EKRE launches petition to withdraw from Istanbul Convention

Opposition party EKRE launched a public petition on Monday to gather support to demand Estonia's withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, which opposes violence against women and domestic violence.
Chairman Martin Helme said the convention is advertised as a treaty to prevent violence, but it has been turned into a tool of extremist ideology that imposes abnormal gender and value approaches.
"Unscientific teachings about dozens of different genders have appeared in our textbooks. At the same time, the actual work of preventing violence and helping victims has taken a back seat. The current government is cutting funding for women's shelters and the availability of counseling. At the same time, the convention obliges the state to fund initiatives and organizations that promote gay and trans ideology, which is done in Estonia for millions of euros," Helme said, newspaper Postimees reported.
"Estonia has already established all the necessary laws to combat domestic violence and violence against women long before joining the convention. These laws must be implemented," he emphasized.
However, Kaire Tamm, head of the victims' assistance department at the Social Insurance Board, said Estonia's signing of the convention has led to real improvements.
These include criminalizing sexual harassment and stalking, better awareness of different forms of violence and better protection of children in cases of domestic violence.
Discussions about the convention have been sparked after Latvia's government voted to withdraw from the treaty earlier this month due to the
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Editor: Helen Wright










