GREVIO (Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence) is the independent monitoring body of the Istanbul Convention. 

In their process of monitoring the Istanbul Convention, the GREVIO committee writes and publishes reports evaluating the measures taken by countries who have ratified the treaty. The GREVIO commitee should have a gendered and geographical balance and members should have expertise in the areas of human rights, gender equality, violence against women and domestic violence. 

Country monitoring

GREVIO carries out evaluations on a country-by-country basis. You can check the status of the reporting process in your country here.

GREVIO is interested in gaining information from various sources, in order to have a broader picture of the implementation of the Convention. Two types of reports are sent out to the GREVIO.

• The state report is produced by the responsible state institution(s). It is usually a comprehensive report which gives information on all articles of the Convention, from the perspective of state institutions.
• The shadow report gives an overview of the Convention implementation from the perspective of NGO(s) working in the field. Shadow reports are very valuable sources of information, enabling different perspectives to be considered for evaluation.

After the evaluation procedure has started, there are six steps in the process:

1. Reporting to GREVIO and information gathering; the state report is submitted to the GREVIO. Shadow reports can also be sent out in this phase, but are not limited to it. In this phase, GREVIO is also collecting information and may reach out to organisations asking specific questions.
2. GREVIO evaluates the state report in the context of a visit to the country being audited.
3. GREVIO drafts their first report. In this phase, the draft report is sent out to the audited country. The state party responds to the issues raised in the draft.
4. GREVIO finalises their report, taking into account the comments received from the audited country.
5. Publication and dissemination of the GREVIO report; in this phase, the state party can once again comment on the report. The final GREVIO report and the state party comments are published.
6. Follow-up to the GREVIO report.

Want to learn more? We have answered some questions relating to GREVIO reporting here.

Johanna Nelles, Executive Secretary to the Istanbul Convention, took the time to talk to WWP EN about the importance of perpetrator programmes submitting shadow reports to the GREVIO.