https://digivn.dw.com/view/251103-09-1214

Lower thirds:

0:02  Report by / Sergei Satanovskii
0:08  Ieva Ozolina / Victim of domestic violence
1:44  Amils Saļimovs, Member of Parliament
1:45  Beata Jonite, Head of policy and advocacy, Marta Centre
2:34  Linda Liepiņa, Member of Parliament 
3:13  Edgars Rinkevics, President of Latvia 
3:45   Ieva Ozolina / Victim of domestic violence

Script:

00:00
Ieva Ozolina from Latvia says she became a victim of domestic violence seven years ago.

+++SOT+++ (00:07)
Ieva Ozolina
I couldn't meet any friends, I couldn't meet my family. I couldn't even watch TV. Nothing. I couldn't go outside. I couldn't work. Nothing. I was a slave in my own home. I couldn't even use electricity sometimes because it was expensive he said
At the time, Ieva had no one to talk to about what she was going through.
She thought she was the problem and even considered suicide.

+++SOT Ieva Ozolina +++ (00:37)
"My ex-husband, he was saying that I'm crazy, and this is what psychological violence is. He was saying I'm crazy. I have to go to the doctor to get the prescription, to drink some pills, to be normal." +++

Ieva has now decided to speak openly about her experience, moved by the shifting political situation in her country.
On October 30, the Latvian parliament voted to withdraw from the so-called Istanbul Convention.
This Council of Europe document is aimed at preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.
Some supporters of the withdrawal believe that women in Latvia are not under any real threat.

+++SOT Amils Saļimovs, Member of Parliament +++ (1:23)
"We live in a safe environment, in a safe country. Women can go out freely without any problems - there’s no threat at all."+++

The Latvian women’s rights organization Marta disagrees with this view.
Beata Jonite warns that her country’s withdrawal from the treaty could have serious consequences.

+++SOT Beata Jonite, Head of policy and advocacy, Marta Centre +++ (1:44)
"Latvia currently ranks number one per capita in Europe in terms of femicides. So we really can't afford to be playing politically with a topic that is this sensitive. We as the Marta Center are getting calls from victims saying that their perpetrators are calling them saying, oh, we're going to withdraw from the convention and I'll be able to beat you again." +++

Opponents of Latvia’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention have accused their rivals of trying to score political points at the expense of vulnerable groups.
They also accused the politicians who voted in favor of leaving the convention of sympathizing with Vladimir Putin.
Russia's president often speaks of his country as a defender of so-called “traditional values.”
But Latvian conservatives say they don't allign with Putin but with another president.

+++SOT+++ Linda Liepiņa, Member of Parliament +++
"For those who may not know, let me remind you: US President Donald Trump was among the first to speak out against so-called woke culture, gender ideology, and uncontrolled migration flows."+++

The parliament's decision sparked a strong negative reaction across much of society.
More than 60 thousand people signed a petition urging the Latvian president not to sign the law.
And Edgars Rinkēvičs listened - he sent the bill back to parliament for review.

+++SOT Edgars Rinkevics, President of Latvia +++ (3:12)
"We see that there are many people who support pulling out of the convention, but we must also acknowledge that there are quite a few who want to keep it. The most democratic way to find a solution is through elections." +++

For now the Latvian parliament decided to postpone a new vote for November 2026 - right after a new election.
Ieva Ozolina believes this small victory won't calm down other victims of domestic violence and the society.

+++SOT Ieva Ozolina +++ (3:45)
"Today, tha nks to the Istanbul Convention, emotional violence is actually criminalized, which I would be so happy if seven years ago this would be the case. - There shouldn't be any question about it at all, not in this parliament, not the next, not in any parliament."+++

Until lawmakers fully abandon the bill, local human rights organizations plan to continue their protests.
Which have already become the largest in the country’s modern history.