The Istanbul Convention is the first European treaty specifically targeting all forms of gender-based violence and, thus, it is a very significant development (McQuigg 2011; Niemi et al 2020). States that ratified the Convention have an obligation to protect and support survivors of such violence and establish services such as hotlines, shelters, medical services, counselling and legal aid. Although 45 states and the EU have signed the Istanbul Convention, several states did not ratify it. Why? The article will examine the ratification process of the Istanbul Convention in Bulgaria and Poland. Whereas Poland ratified the convention, Bulgaria’s Constitutional Tribunal rejected it. However, in both countries, contestation over the Convention is ongoing in the context of democratic backsliding. This article contributes to the scholarly literature for several reasons. First, it disentangles the complexity of political ideology to demonstrate how gender relations constitute an integral aspect of it. Instead of looking at the role of feminist movements (Htun and Weldon 2018), this research focuses on political ideology. Second, this project investigates how and to what extent anti-gender groups influence policy choices and a neoconservative social agenda. Third, understanding the interaction of international and domestic norms can shed light on policy responses to violence against women. Finally, the use of comparative politics and policy adds a new dimension to existing studies on domestic violence in psychology, anthropology, public health and criminology. This new lens is needed (e.g. Elman 2013; Celis et 2013). This article utilises the most similar systems design (Landman 2008).