national women’s helplines

The Istanbul Convention has established standards for national women’s helplines, which are important benchmarks for all states to follow, regardless of whether or not they have ratified the Convention. According to Article 24 of the Istanbul Convention, states should provide at least one national helpline to address all forms of violence against women, operating 24/7 and free of charge. Other important elements of a national women’s helpline would be to provide support in all relevant languages, have a widely advertised public number, and provide referrals to other relevant services such as counselling centres, women’s shelters, or the police.