The civil society organisation Associació de support a les dones que pateixen violència de gènere (Hèlia) has finalised a communication and advocacy project on the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention) in Catalonia. It has run from April 2025 to November 2025 and is one of four projects selected under the call for proposals and funded by the Council of Europe programme “Ending violence against women: multi-country programme”.
The project aimed to promote awareness of the Istanbul Convention, counter misinformation and strengthen understanding of its legal and political significance among civil society, professionals, institutions and the general public. The campaign was based on the methodology developed by the Council of Europe Gender Equality Division, Women Against Violence Europe Network (WAVE) and UN Women.
Hèlia engaged a wide range of actors across local and regional levels, enhancing dialogue, building knowledge and reinforcing the role of community involvement in preventing and combatting violence against women. Activities included:
- capacity-building for more than 330 volunteers by integrating the Istanbul Convention into their mandatory training curriculum, ensuring long-term sustainability
- a roundtable on the Convention’s protective role with international experts, which brought together nearly 400 in-person and online participants and strengthened institutional dialogue and feminist advocacy
- digital and media outreach, including an Instagram campaign reaching 3 879 views and dissemination through Hèlia’s newsletter to 2 088 subscribers
- the creation of an online repository hosting all awareness-raising materials to secure continued access and visibility
“With Bringing Knowledge and Action, we work to make the Istanbul Convention a transformative tool. By supporting grassroots actors, we help communities confidently challenge harmful practices and strengthen pathways to justice, protection and dignity for all women and girls,” stated Hèlia’s team.
