News

International round table “Russia’s aggression against Ukraine: Implementing the Istanbul Convention during armed conflict”
On 23 November 2022, the Council of Europe project “Combatting violence against women in Ukraine” (COVAW) organised an online international round table which brought together about 60 participants who discussed implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating...
The online course on access to justice for women is now available in Turkish
The course “Access to justice for women” in Turkish has been published on the Council of Europe HELP platform (Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals Programme) providing the latest developments at both Council of Europe and European Union level. This online course provides a...
Three international organisations in Ukraine call for ending violence against women
In observance of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on November 25, and the accompanying 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, the EU Delegation to Ukraine, the EU Advisory Mission for Civilian Security Sector Reform (EUAM Ukraine) in Ukraine, and the...
Rich discussions during the 8th gender mainstreaming training for Council of Europe Gender Equality Rapporteurs
On 29-30 December, the Council of Europe Gender Equality Division organised its annual training session for Gender Equality Rapporteurs (GERs) entitled “Ambassadors for Change: Training Course on Gender Equality and Gender Mainstreaming” at the European Youth Centre in Strasbourg. 16 GERs...
Statement by Committee of Ministers Chair, Þórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörð Gylfadóttir, Icelandic Minister for Foreign Affairs
“On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, I reaffirm Iceland’s steadfast commitment to gender equality and the protection of the hard-earned progress concerning the human rights of women and girls. Together, we must combat all forms of violence against women and...
New report assessing the alignment of measures on violence against women in Kosovo* with the Istanbul Convention
Today, an assessment report on the alignment of laws, policies and measures in Kosovo* with the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention) was published. Forming part of the Council of Europe co-operation project...
Multi-agency cooperation in Azerbaijan
Over the course of two days, on 3 and 4 November 2022, 15 participants were provided with essential tools to draft a multi-agency cooperation plan for combating violence against women and domestic violence. These sessions follow the two initial sessions that took place in October. Participants...
Impact of COVID 19 on women’s access to justice: what are the next steps?
What can states do to address persistent and emerging challenges and barriers women face when accessing justice? How can the Covid-19 pandemic incentivise legal professionals in the national justice systems to rethink and reshape national approaches to access to justice and gender equality? ...
Gender Equality Commission meeting, 16-18 November 2022
The Gender Equality Commission (GEC) will hold its 22nd plenary meeting in Strasbourg, from 16 to 18 November. On the policy development agenda, GEC members will discuss Draft Guidelines on the place of men and boys in gender equality policies and in policies to combat violence against women....
The digital dimension of violence against women in the Republic of Moldova
On 8 November 2022, the Council of Europe held a seminar on the digital dimension of violence against women. This event, which was moderated by La Strada Moldova, gathered key stakeholders including national authorities, civil society, and the private sector to identify steps to target online...
"We stand by our women and girls": The Republic of Moldova hosts international conference on violence against women and domestic violence
The Council of Europe participated in the second edition of the International Conference on preventing and combating violence against women and girls and domestic violence hosted by the Republic of Moldova from 25 to 27 October 2022: “We stand by our women and girls!”. Participants, both in...
Ukrainian civil society organisations provide vital support to women during war
Projects by four Ukrainian civil society organisations have been successfully completed in October 2022, focused on protecting and promoting women’s human rights during the war in Ukraine, with financial support from the Council of Europe. The Ukrainian women lawyers’ association “JurFem”...
The Istanbul Convention entered into force on 1 November in Ukraine
Congratulations Ukraine! The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention) entered into force on 1 November 2022, after approval by the Ukrainian Parliament on 20 June 2022 and ratification on 18 July 2022. 37 countries...
The Newsletter No 7 has just been issued!
This newsletter covers our activities relating to the following objectives of the Council of Europe’s Gender Equality Strategy for the period June to October 2022. Newsletter No 7 Subscribe to our newsletter
Communication and advocacy campaigns on the Istanbul Convention: Results of the call for projects for civil society organisations
The Council of Europe project “Ending violence against women: multi-country programme” has finalised a call for proposals for civil society organisations (CSOs) with expertise and experience in combating violence against women and domestic violence to support awareness-raising and advocacy...
Armenian Police officers trained on combating violence against women and domestic violence
The series of trainings of the specialised division of preventing juvenile crimes and domestic violence of the police of Armenia continued in October 2022 in Tsaghkadzor. A group of 50 police officers improved their knowledge on combating violence against women and domestic violence. A total of...
In the shoes of Armenian police officers: a uniform for victims of domestic violence to rely upon
As first-responders to domestic violence calls, police officers occupy a unique position to lead the response of criminal justice to domestic violence and violence against women. It is therefore useful to consider the perspectives of police officers themselves. The perceptions of police officers...
Improving the gender perspective in measuring and monitoring access to justice in Türkiye
“Adopting a gender-sensitive approach when measuring and monitoring access to justice highlights the challenges that women and girls face in accessing justice and paves the way towards developing justice policies and practices that address the needs and rights of women.” This was one of the main...
Aligning Azerbaijani laws and policies with international standards on violence against women and domestic violence
The project Raising awareness of the Istanbul Convention and other gender equality standards in Azerbaijan has coordinated a gap analysis of the legislative and policy frameworks in the field of violence against women and domestic violence in Azerbaijan by comparing them with international...
Five steps to ensure women’s access to justice
Do you know how access to justice is linked to combating violence against women and sexism? Do you want to understand how the Covid-19 pandemic can offer an opportunity to radically rethink and reshape national approaches to access to justice and gender equality? Do you want to know how legal...