When discussing the opposition of the majority of Saeima deputies in regards to the ratification of the Istanbul Convention, deputy Leila Rasima spoke “holding back tears that such a position shows that women in Latvia are not safe”.
On the 16th of April a woman was stabbed to death in front of her mother and child in Jēkabpils. The murder was committed by the woman’s ex-husband, one Leons Rusiņš. According to available information he had terrorised and persecuted her for months prior to the murder. Police were informed of this but no protection was provided in the end. Rusiņš is wanted by the police, and State Police urge residents to report any information they have about his possible location.
This story caused a massive resonance in the media and society in general. Many residents accuse the police of inaction and negligence of duties that led to this tragic outcome.
On Thursday, the 27th of April, members of opposition party Progressive asked to include the topic of the convention’s ratification to the agenda.
33 deputies voted in favour, 44 voted against, and five deputies abstained in the vote.
Andris Šuvajevs from the Progressive party stressed that the question is “whether the 14th Saeima takes the side of the victim or the perpetrator”. He also said he is sad politicians from the Combined List and the Union of Greens and Farmers publicly said that the ratification of the convention will not change anything. “I am especially sad about Saeima speaker Edvards Smiltēns’ words that there is no support for the Istanbul Convention among residents.
They reference only their personal campaigns, not official statistics,” said Šuvajevs, adding that this is a topic “in which the second most important state official should maintain a diplomatically neutral tone in the worst case scenario”.
Šuvajevs also stressed that “the Istanbul Convention is a clear political response, and it is the duty of every responsible, forward-thinking and European-minded legislator to join and ratify it”.
He said that by ratifying the convention it will be possible to help victims more quickly and more effectively, as well as perform preventive measures to protect victims of violence. One of the main aspects outlined by the Progressive member is this: ratification of the convention would help outline in the law more clearly and define prevention of violence, protection of victims and punishments for violent perpetrators.
“Violence has a gender, and this gender is male. The existing legislation was composed to battle violence against all people, but the law needs to take into account the specifics of violence,”
he said, inviting the Saeima to accept the legislative draft for approval.
Ainārs Šlesers from Latvia in First Place explained he and his party are against the convention’s ratification because it includes a definition of “family”, which he and his party sees as a forceful way to have the government change the definition listed in Latvia’s legislation: “family is a union between a man and a woman”.
As for Šuvajevs and his so-called arguments, Šlesers said he agrees that laws and the approach to battling domestic and other forms of violence should be changed to prevent such situations from repeating.
Progressive party members Antoņina Ņenaševa and Leila Rasima doubted deputies’ motivation in voting the way they did. The former explained that the Istanbul Convention will help protect Latvian women not only in words but in practice as well.
The latter started crying, saying there are many stories of women in Latvia turning to others for help but never receiving it, resulting in the same outcome as the one in Jēkabpils.
“One thing is clear – if you as a woman want to feel safe, you run away. And even if you do, there are no guarantees you will be safe. We as a society live as hostages of prejudices and stereotypes. Often we hear: family problems are a private thing, it’s her own fault. Or the popular: “if he hits, he loves”,” said Rasima.
She also said the convention does not enforce all regulations included in it. “Each country picks ways to implement all measures in their legislation. They are also free to develop norms that are intended to combat domestic violence and stereotypes about gender roles, which cause suffering to members of society,” she said.
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