News
A new HELP course on Access to Justice for Women available on the HELP Platform!
Achieving gender equality is a priority for the Council for Europe and its member states. It is also central to achieving the organisation’s mission: safeguarding human rights, upholding democracy and preserving the rule of law. Even if the legal status of women in Europe has improved during the...
Armenian Police and Academy of Justice strengthen the response to violence against women and domestic violence
The Council of Europe organised the conference Paving the way towards the ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (known as the Istanbul Convention) in Yerevan on 13 December 2018 at the end of its 8-month project...
Macedonian lawyers to be trained to better protect victims of Violence against Women and Domestic Violence
The HELP course on Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence was launched for Macedonian lawyers, in a joint activity of the Council of Europe, Gender Equality Division, and the Macedonian Bar Association in “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”. The launching event was opened by...
Recommendations for the development of the Slovenian national programme on preventing and combating domestic violence and violence against women: Challenges, gaps and best practices report
Since 2017, the Council of Europe has co-operated with the Slovenian Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities in supporting their institutional setting and practices related to combat violence against women and domestic violence. This targeted support has included...
Polish lawyers to be trained to better protect victims of Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence
The HELP course on Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence was launched for Polish lawyers, in a joint action of the Council of Europe and the Polish Bar Council and the Bar Association of Attorneys at Law of Poland. The launching event was opened by Justyna Metelska, Chairperson of the...
14th meeting of the Gender Equality Commission
At its 14th meeting (Strasbourg, 5-7 December), the Gender Equality Commission (GEC) finalised and adopted the text of a draft Committee of Ministers recommendation to prevent and combat sexism, advancing an international definition of sexism and proposing measures to address it. It will now be...
North-South Prize 2018 honours fight to end female genital mutilation
Jaha Mapenzi Dukureh, founder and CEO of the Non-Governmental organisation “Safe Hands for Girls” is one of the laureates of the North-South Prize of the Council of Europe 2018. Through “Safe Hands for Girls”, Jaha Dukureh provides support to African women and girls who survive Female Genital...
Strengthened justice response to cases of violence against women and domestic violence in Georgia
On 29 November, 42 prosecutors, inspectors and staff members of the Human Rights Department of the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs received their certificates of completion of the HELP (Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals). The course participants completed a 3-month online HELP...
The Council of Europe kicks off phase II of its project in Georgia to prevent and combat violence against women and domestic violence
On 30 November, as a part of global 16 days of activism campaign to end violence against women, the Council of Europe organised a seminar on the Council of Europe Convention to Prevent and Combat Violence against women and Domestic Violence (known as the Istanbul Convention). Various national and...
Council of Europe loud and clear about ending violence against women
“All women and girls have the right to live free from violence. Unfortunately, this is not the reality. One in three women has experienced physical or sexual violence – 22% at the hands of their partner. More than half of all women have been sexually harassed with 20% of young women reporting...
Equality and women's rights - a focus issue of the Finnish Presidency of the Committee of Ministers
The Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe today passed from Croatia to Finland, at a meeting at the Organisation’s Strasbourg headquarters, attended by representatives of its 47 member States. The outgoing Chair, Marija Pejčinović Burić, Deputy Prime Minister and...
World Forum for Democracy - “Gender Equality: Whose Battle?”
A year after the #MeToo movement first started, the World Forum for Democracy 2018, from 19 to 21 November, will focus on gender equality and women’s rights, in particular, women’s public, political and economic participation, and on combating violence against women. Dolores Delgado Garcia,...
New face-to-face course on violence against women for legal professionals developed in Armenia
On 10–11 November 2018, the Council of Europe together with the Academy of Justice of the Republic of Armenia conducted a training of trainers on how to prevent violence against women, including domestic violence, protect the victims of violence and hold the perpetrators of violence accountable...
Romania should improve the protection of persons with disabilities, combat violence against women, safeguard press freedom and maintain the independence of the judiciary
“Romania needs to strengthen its institutional framework to better protect the rights of persons with disabilities, and should step up the efforts to combat violence against women,” said today Dunja Mijatović, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, at the end of her five-day visit to...
Gender Equality Dimensions of the Internet to be discussed at the Internet Governance Forum in Paris
A Council of Europe delegation will take part in discussions to be held at the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) at UNESCO headquarters in Paris from 12 to 14 November, under the heading of “Internet of Trust”. Gender equality dimensions of the Internet will also feature at the forum, and the...
Mapping support services for victims of violence against women in line with the Istanbul Convention standards
The Council of Europe organised a one-day training seminar “Mapping support services for victims of violence against women in line with the Istanbul Convention standards”. The training seminar presented a Council of Europe methodology and tools for mapping support services for victims of violence...
Police response to violence against women and domestic violence strengthened in Armenia
On 23–26 and 29–30 October 2018, the Council of Europe together with the Police of Republic of Armenia conducted trainings on how to prevent violence against women and domestic violence and protect the victims of violence in Tsakhkadzor, Armenia. The trainings targeted at the Heads of Divisions...
Breaking the cycle of gender inequality in sport
A Conference entitled “Breaking the cycle of inequality in sport - by fixing gender balance in leadership and preventing violence against women” will be held in Zagreb on 25 October 2018, organised by the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport, under the Croatian Chairmanship of the Committee of...
Regional conference Access to Justice for Women Victims of Violence
The theme of the regional conference Access to Justice for Women Victims of Violence organised under the Partnership for Good Governance (PGG) project was “Strengthening Access to Justice for Women Victims of Violence in the Six Eastern partnership Countries”. The aim of the conference was to...
#MeToo: alarming levels of sexual abuse and violence found in parliaments
A new study by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) shows that acts of sexism, abuse and violence against women are widespread in parliaments across Europe. The findings reveal that 85 per cent of women MPs have suffered from...
