Istanbul Convention Network

Civil society as a key player

The Istanbul Convention gives NGOs, specialised services and other civil society players an important role in implementation and monitoring. In Switzerland, it is non-governmental and not-for-profit organisations that are responsible for a large part of the assistance provided and for the protection institutions for people affected by violence. Under the Convention, Switzerland is obliged to encourage these organisations and to develop cooperation with them. Given their experience in the field, NGOs and specialised services are the main partners of the body responsible for evaluation, GREVIO, insofar as it is to this body that they report on the situation in their respective countries.