Member states of the Council of Europe have a legal obligation to ensure that all individuals in their jurisdiction have effective, available and efficient access to justice, that there is a system of remedies for victims and that the justice system is held accountable for any violation. Effective justice systems based on human rights standards, the rule of law and democratic values are central to enabling women to become equal partners in decision-making and development and to be informed participants in their societies.

This project, implemented under the Partnership for Good Governance (PGG), a joint programme of the European Union and the Council of Europe, aimed at strengthening access to justice for women, especially women victims of violence in line with the Council of Europe gender equality standards and contributing towards the Eastern Partnership countries ratification of the Council of Europe Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.

Project objectives:

• Authorities, justice sector professionals, and civil society apply new competences on the standards on access to justice of the Istanbul Convention, in order to remove obstacles to access to justice.
• Authorities, justice sector professionals and civil society introduce measures, including on training, to ensure that the justice chain is gender responsive, particularly for women victims of violence in line with the Istanbul Convention and other European standards.

The project complemented other Council of Europe projects in the region by contributing to the development of a gender sensitive justice system.

  1 January 2019 - 28 February 2023

The European Union

Academy of Justice of Armenia

Academy of Justice of Azerbaijan

Belarusian National Institute for the Qualification of Judges, Prosecutors and Legal Professionals

High School of Justice of Georgia and the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia

National Institute of Justice of the Republic of Moldova

 National School of Judges of Ukraine and Prosecutors Training Centre of Ukraine

The project has additionally co-operated with different state institutions, non-governmental organisations and international organisations working in the field of gender equality and combating and preventing violence against women and domestic violence.

The project was implemented by

the Capacity Building and Co-operation Projects Unit at the Council of Europe's Gender Equality Division

Anca SANDESCU, Project Manager
Alla KRYTYNSKAIA, Project Assistant

 Report of the International Conference "Women’s Access to Justice: moving closer to full ratification and implementation of the Istanbul Convention” ENG

 Report of the online roundtable on "Framework to measure access to justice including specific challenges facing women" ENG / ARM / AZE / GEO / ROM / RUS / UKR

 Checklist for Gender Mainstreaming Law Schools' Curricula ENG / ARM / AZE / GEO / ROM / RUS / UKR

 Guide for developing a mentoring programme on Women's Access to Justice for legal professionals ENG / ARM / AZE / GEO / ROM / RUS / UKR

 Guidance Note - Framework for measuring access to justice including specific challenges facing women - UN Women - Council of Europe  (2016) ENG / ARM / AZE / GEO / ROM / RUS / UKR

 Women's access to justice: a Guide for Legal Practitioners ENG / FR / ARM / AZE / GEO / ROM / RUS / UKR

 Training Manual for Judges and Prosecutors on Ensuring Women’s Access to Justice consists of a general part, and is accompanied by four country chapters available in English and the respective language of each country ENG / ARM / GEO / ROM / RUS / UKR

• Country Chapter for Armenia ARM / ENG
• Country Chapter for Georgia GEO / ENG
• Country Chapter for the Republic of Moldova ROM / ENG
• Country Chapter for Ukraine UKR / ENG

 Country Studies on Barriers, Remedies and Good Practices for Women’s Access to Justice in Armenia, in Azerbaijan, in Georgia, in Moldova and Ukraine ARM / AZE / GEO/ ROM / UKR

Feasibility Study on Equal Access of Women to Justice ENG

PGG (2015-2018) Project Translations

European Court of Human Rights Factsheet on Domestic Violence ARM / AZE / GEO / RUS / UKR

European Court of Human Rights Factsheet on Violence against Women ARM / AZE / GEO / RUS / UKR

Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention) in other languages ARM / GEO / ROM / RUS / UKR and its explanatory report AZE / RUS

Feedback report on gender mainstreaming in the Swedish Courts ENG

 HELP course on Access to Justice for Women