Poland's Bishops' Conference has denounced a Council of Europe convention aimed at prohibiting violence against women and urged the country's liberal government not to sign it."This convention is built on untruthful ideological assumptions," the bishops said in a declaration on Monday.
"It mixes the proper principle of anti-violence with an attempt to interfere dangerously and suggests violence towards women is systemic and has roots in religion and culture. Polish law has enough tools for resisting instances of violence, including aggression towards women."
The bishops spoke out as the centre-right Government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk prepared to sign the April 2011 "Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence", which creates the world's first comprehensive legal framework for curbing psychological and sexual violence.