Council of Europe, on June 29^th 2017, organized a seminar with the purpose to raise the awareness on the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention) as an effective tool for action in this area, especially in the area of support for victims. The Istanbul Convention calls for a comprehensive national approach to combating all forms of violence against women, which includes preventive measures, protection and support for victims, and the effective prosecution of perpetrators.
    Represented by Nicole Farnsworth, KWN was invited to do an introduction to the standards of the Istanbul Convention, highlighting the importance of the convention for Kosovar society as a tool to combat all forms of violence against women and domestic violence. Ms. Farnsworth called upon Kosovo government to increase the efforts in supporting sheltering opportunities for victims and their children and increasing the social housing programs and a better rehabilitation and reintegration programs for victims but also the importance in working with perpetrators. Further, she called upon the government to have a proper budgeting in order to implement the Istanbul Convention fully. 
     The seminar gathered main local and international stakeholders who operate in Kosovo in fighting violence against women and domestic violence. The participants agreed that although the Istanbul Convention cannot be ratified in the Constitution, its principles should be translated and adopted, and the service provisions for women victims of violence as foreseen in the Istanbul Convention should be put in place in Kosovo.