News
Advancing gender equality and fighting stereotypes
A meeting of the Council of Europe’s main body for supporting gender equality has examined a wide range of issues affecting women. The plenary meeting of the Gender Equality Commission, held from 11-13 May in Strasbourg, discussed progress in advancing gender equality in Europe. The participants...
21st meeting of the Gender Equality Commission (11-13 May 2022)
The Gender Equality Commission (GEC) held its 21st plenary meeting from 11 to 13 May 2022, in Strasbourg and online. GEC members had the opportunity to exchange with Iris Luarasi, President of the Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO), about...
Four civil society organisations awarded grants to increase women’s legal awareness in Turkey
Within the framework of the European Union and Council of Europe joint programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022” and its action “Fostering women’s access to justice in Turkey”, the Council of Europe selected four proposals from well-established and experienced...
European countries meet to discuss methods to address the Digital Dimension of Violence against Women
The rapid evolution of information and communication technologies facilitates the creation of new forms of violence against women and girls, such as non-consensual photos or videos, exploitation, sexualised bullying, cyber flashing, technology-facilitated stalking, online psychological violence...
The Istanbul Convention enters into force in the Republic of Moldova
On 1 May 2022, the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, known as the Istanbul Convention, entered into force in the Republic of Moldova. This follows the ratification by the Moldova Parliament on 14 October 2021 thus Republic of...
Launch of a new project in the Republic of Moldova to support the implementation of the Istanbul Convention
On 13 April 2022, the project “Supporting the implementation of the Istanbul Convention in the Republic of Moldova” was officially launched online. The project is being implemented under the Council of Europe’s Action Plan for the Republic of Moldova for 2021-2024 and its partners are the...
High Level Conference on Work-life balance - a leverage for women’s empowerment and promoting gender equality
The Italian Minister of Equal Opportunities and Family and the Council of Europe organised a High Level Conference on “Work-life balance as a leverage for women’s empowerment and promoting gender equality” on Tuesday, 12 April 2022, at Palazzo della Farnesina in Rome. The aim was to foster a...
Fruitful discussions during the first meeting of the Working Group on the place of men and boys in gender equality policies and in policies to combat violence against women
The Working Group on the place of men and boys held its first online meeting on 31 March 2022. The Working Group was established by the Gender Equality Commission (GEC) further to the mandate given by the Committee of Ministers to draw up Guidelines on “The place of men and boys in gender...
What can be done now to protect displaced women and girls from abuse, violence and exploitation?
Given the fastest-growing refugee flow in Europe since World War II with over four million Ukrainians fleeing, how can refugee, migrant and asylum-seeking women and girls be protected from abuse, violence and exploitation when crossing borders? In her address to the EEA/Norway Grants’ SYNERGY...
Increasing legal aid lawyers’ awareness on women’s access to justice in Turkey
An online kick-off event to launch the tutored online HELP (Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals) course on “Access to Justice for Women” was organised for legal professionals in Turkey on 29 March 2022. 250 legal aid lawyers from four Bar Associations (Ordu, Nevsehir, Diyarbakır and...
Social workers of domestic violence victims support centres equipped with knowledge and skills to support victims of domestic violence in Armenia
From 23 to 25 March social workers of 12 newly established domestic violence victims and survivors support centres of Armenia were trained on preventing and combating domestic violence and providing support to victims of domestic violence. Participants of the training gained knowledge on...
Conference on ending violence against women: Time for action - held in Tbilisi
The Embassy of Italy in Tbilisi and the Council of Europe office in Georgia in cooperation with the Government of Georgia organised a conference aimed at raising awareness and fostering action to end violence against women and girls. The conference was organised in the context of the on-going...
Promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment via micro grants projects in Armenia
In May-December 2021, with Council of Europe support, small grant projects were successfully implemented in three regions of Armenia by the following NGOs: Armavir Development Centre, SOSE Women's NGO and Martuni Women’s Community Council. The small grant projects aimed at raising awareness of...
Training manual for the Police Educational Complex of Armenia
A training manual for police officers on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence was developed for the Police Educational Complex of Armenia within the framework of the Council of Europe project “The path towards Armenia’s ratification of the Council of Europe...
Staff of the Compulsory Enforcement Service of Armenia is trained on preventing domestic violence
Staff members of the Compulsory Enforcement Service participated in a two-day interactive training on the prevention of domestic violence. The participants learned how to identify domestic violence, discussed existing myths, and psychological trauma of the survivors of domestic violence and their...
EXTENDED DEADLINE - Call for tender for the provision of intellectual services in the areas of violence against women, domestic violence and gender equality in the Republic of Moldova
The Council of Europe is launching a call for the purchase of intellectual services in the areas of violence against women, domestic violence and gender equality in the Republic of Moldova within the framework of the project “Supporting the implementation of the Istanbul Convention in the...
Providing legal aid for women in Turkey: signing of a grant agreement with the Union of Turkish Bar Associations
A grant agreement that will strengthen access to legal aid for women in Turkey was signed between the Council of Europe and the Union of Turkish Bar Associations (UTBA). The ceremony was held on 8 March 2022 to mark the celebration of the International Women’s Day. Signed within the framework of...
CSW online side event: STEM education as a stepping-stone towards gender transformative climate change policies
The Council of Europe organised an online side event with Italy on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education as a stepping-stone towards gender transformative climate change policies. The event was co-sponsored by Austria, the United Kingdom and the United Nations...
War in Ukraine: protecting women and girls
“As we continue to witness the horrors of war in Ukraine, I urge an agreement on viable humanitarian corridors which are essential to allow the safe passage of thousands of displaced persons fleeing death and destruction - most of them women and children. With more than 1.7 million refugees so...
International Women’s Day : #BreakTheBias starts with men
Pay trends in some Council of Europe member states over a recent 12-year period reflect improvements in the gender pay gap. Eurostat for example reported a drop in the gender pay gap in the Czech Republic from just over 26% in 2008, to less than 16.5% in 2020. In Cyprus, the figure stood at 19.5%...
