Women's rights activists protest against Latvia's possible withdrawal from domestic violence treaty

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WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Women's rights activists taped their mouths shut at a demonstration Wednesday outside the Latvian parliament to protest the country's possible withdrawal from an international treaty aimed at supporting women who are victims of violence.

Dozens of protesters watched as several women, with their hands tied behind their backs, sat down in front of a table with a white cloth covered in red paint handprints.

The demonstration, the second of its kind in two weeks, follows a decision by Latvian lawmakers last month to start a process that could lead to withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention. The Council of Europe treaty, which Latvia ratified in 2023, is meant to standardize support for women who are victims of violence, including domestic abuse.

Ultra-conservative groups and political parties across Europe have criticized the treaty in recent years, arguing that it promotes “gender ideology," encourages sexual experimentation and harms children.

In 2020, the previous conservative nationalist government in Poland lobbied neighboring countries to support an alternative treaty to the Istanbul Convention that would ban abortion and same-sex marriage.

“What I see is how a foreign ideology is creeping into our everyday lives,” Linda Liepina, a lawmaker from the opposition Latvia First party, told parliament, according to the Latvian Public Media. “I see how common sense and balance are disappearing, how the abnormal is being made normal.”

Marta Kraujina from the MARTA Center, a charity supporting female victims of violence in Latvia and one of the organizers of Wednesday’s protest, said political parties are targeting the Istanbul Convention as a way to attract conservative voters ahead of next year’s parliamentary elections.

“The attack on the Istanbul Convention is happening because the populist movement is on the rise in Latvia, and this is a first trial for their future electoral campaign,” Kraujina told The Associated Press.

The charity said the ratification of the treaty has led to improvements in criminal law and crisis support, and encouraged women to seek help.

Prime Minister Evika Silina took to social media on Tuesday to argue the treaty had “significantly improved” assistance to victims. Her governing coalition committed to ratifying the treaty when coming to power in 2023.

“Those who have been brave enough to seek help are now witnessing their experiences being used for political battles,” Silina wrote. “It is cruel.”