1.4 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 34. Gender equality is a basic principle of human rights, and women’s rights are an inalienable, integral and indivisible part of universal human rights. Equal treatment that fully integrates the principle of equality between women and men should be at the heart of an effective justice and governance system. It is also a prerequisite for social justice, democracy and economic development. 35. The Commissioner notes the improvements in Latvia in the area of gender equality, particularly as regards women’s economic empowerment. However, he is concerned by the reported occupational relegation of women to spheres of activity with lower remuneration, which contributes to the gender pay gap. The low level of representation of women in politics, especially in parliament, is another area of concern that in turn can have a negative impact on the development of gender-sensitive legislation and policies. The Commissioner urges the Latvian authorities to institute long-term strategies and action plans that fully apply the principle of gender equality across all sectors and promote women’s participation in public and political life. The implementation of such policies requires close coordination among public entities and civil society organisations. They should have concrete activities, with clear, time-bound targets, identified duty-bearers in charge of implementation and corresponding budgetary resources. Relevant and reliable disaggregated data is also a pre-condition for providing a sound base-line for specific actions to address the real needs and gaps related to women’s rights and gender equality. 36. The Commissioner notes that violence against women and domestic violence continue to be significant problems in Latvia, where the data provided by the police shows the disproportionate impact of domestic violence on women. Many of the Commissioner’s official interlocutors are cognizant of the need to take decisive actions to prevent and combat violence against women, and the existing strategy documents reflect the shift towards understanding violence against women and domestic violence as human rights violations. The Commissioner urges the authorities to demonstrate a renewed commitment to preventing and combating all forms of violence against women in a comprehensive manner, including by adopting a specific action plan to bring together all relevant policies in this area. 37. The Commissioner recalls that violence against women, including domestic violence, is a major concern in Europe and a human rights violation that affects all Council of Europe member states. He notes the on-going efforts of the authorities to bring Latvia’s legislation in line with the requirements of Istanbul Convention. At the same time, he recommends further efforts to build capacity, including through continuous training, for law enforcement, prosecutorial and judicial authorities to effectively identify and investigate cases of violence, prosecute and punish perpetrators, and provide protection to the victims. Specific efforts in this regard are required at municipal level. The Commissioner also stresses the need to establish a sufficient number of specialised and adequately-resourced women’s shelters to comprehensively address the multiple and interlocking problems related to their and their children’s health, safety and welfare in line with the requirements of the Istanbul Convention.33 38. The Commissioner welcomes the signature by Latvia of the Istanbul Convention and calls on the authorities to proceed promptly with its ratification. However, he notes with concern that the debates about the need to ratify the Convention have often been based on misleading and inaccurate information. He encourages the authorities to conduct awareness-raising campaigns for the public using evidence-based research and gender-disaggregated data to explain the true nature and the scope of the problems of violence against women and domestic violence and the measures envisaged in the Istanbul Convention to respond to and prevent those phenomena. 39. Social stereotypes and prejudices persist in Latvian society about gender roles and the principle of gender equality. Such lingering stereotypes can have a negative impact on policy-making with respect to women’s rights in many areas, including on women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights. The Commissioner strongly believes that investing in an education system which is free from gender bias is needed in order to bring long-term changes, address the root causes of violence against women, and 33 For more guidance see Council of Europe Task Force to Combat Violence against Women, including Domestic Violence (EG-TFV) September 2008, Explanatory Report, to the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, Istanbul 11 May 2011. 10