Turkish Professor Elected President Of Council Of Europe Monitoring Group On Violence Against Women

- A Turkish professor from Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ) was elected as the first president of the Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO) on Sept. 22.

Prof. Feride Acar, former chairperson and current member of the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and faculty member in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration of ODTÜ in Ankara, was elected as GREVIO’s first president following its inaugural meeting held in Strasbourg.

Rosa Logar, executive director of the Domestic Violence Intervention Centre, a Vienna-based NGO which provides specialized services for victims of violence against women and domestic violence, was named the group’s first vice president.

Marceline Naudi, senior lecturer and head of the Department of Gender Studies within the Social Wellbeing faculty at the University of Malta, was named the group’s second vice president.

They each have a two-year term in office.

GREVIO is an independent expert group which will monitor the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence
The group will draft and publish reports evaluating legislative and other measures taken by states to implement the convention.

In cases where action is required to prevent a serious, massive or persistent pattern of any acts of violence covered by the convention, GREVIO may initiate a special inquiry procedure.

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