On April 13, the President of Poland signed and ratified the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and combatting violence against women, including domestic violence (“Istanbul Convention”). The Polish Parliament voted in February to authorize the President to ratify the convention, despite conservative opposition.
The Istanbul Convention entered into force on August 1, 2014 and requires ratifying states to take concrete steps to eliminate all forms of violence against women, including domestic and sexual violence, forced and child marriage and female genital mutilation. Seventeen countries, including Poland, have now ratified the Convention.
Update: According to the the Council of Europe's website, Poland deposited its notice of ratification with the Council of Europe on April 27, 2015, making it the 18th country to officially ratify the Istanbul Convention.
Compiled from: Agence France Presse, Poland ratifies convention combatting violence against women, Global Post (April 13, 2015); President Komorowski signs anti-violence convention, Radio Poland (April 13, 2015).