A/HRC/44/52/Add.1 segregated in maternity wards in certain maternity hospitals and were often victims of verbal and physical abuse by the medical staff. Lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex women 62. Lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex women face multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination. The social and legal obstacles faced by such women have been exacerbated by the campaign against the ratification of the Istanbul Convention, which triggered a toxic debate on the use of the term gender, interpreted as a dangerous ideological concept seeking to eliminate the differences between men and women. The Special Rapporteur regrets that same-sex couples cannot enter into any form of legally recognized union and that marriages concluded abroad are not registered in Bulgaria, although civil registration of marriages contracted abroad is allowed. 31 The non-registration of same-sex marriages has dire consequences for the lives of lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex women and results in the deprivation of inheritance rights, tax benefits, matrimonial shared property and options for child adoption. Issues related to child custody 63. The Special Rapporteur is particularly concerned about the information received on gender bias against women in custody decisions and the lack of attention paid by courts to patterns of abuse by fathers. According to the information received, this concept is often used by abusive fathers against mothers as a means of retaliation for having reported the violence or left the household. The Special Rapporteur emphasizes that ignoring intimate partner violence against women in the determination of child custody can result in serious risks to the children and must thus be considered to ensure their effective protection.32 VII. Conclusions and recommendations 64. Based on the findings above and in a spirit of cooperation and dialogue, the Special Rapporteur offers the following recommendations on a number of different issues. 65. On incorporating the international and regional frameworks on violence against women into Bulgarian legislation, the Government should: (a) Ratify the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (the Istanbul Convention); (b) Counter the misinterpretation of the term “gender”, translate, interpret, explain and promote the terms “gender” and “gender-based violence against women”, as contained in the Istanbul Convention, in line with their translations in European Union instruments applicable to Bulgaria, European Union directive 2012/29/EU on victims’ rights and general recommendations No. 24 (1999) on women and health, No. 28 and No. 35 of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women; (c) Seek the opinion of the Venice Commission on the constitutional implications of the ratification by Bulgaria of the Istanbul Convention in its revised translation; (d) Submit the improved translation of the Istanbul Convention to the Constitutional Court and request it to assess the possible influence of that translation and its interpretation in the light of relevant European Union directives and the recommendations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against 31 32 16 Marriages concluded under the laws of a foreign State between same-sex persons can be recognized (arts. 75, 76 and 77 of the Bulgarian Private International Law Code). See statement by the Platform of United Nations and independent expert mechanisms on discrimination and violence against women (led by the Special Rapporteur), available from www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Women/SR/StatementVAW_Custody.pdf.