On 28 September 2018, the Commissioner for HR of the CoE, Dunja Mijatović released the report on her visit to Estonia, in June 2018. “To build a more cohesive society, the Estonian authorities should strengthen the protection of women from violence, close the gender pay gap and uphold the rights of older people”, said the Commissioner for Human Rights.
While welcoming Estonia’s adherence to the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention), the Commissioner recommends pursuing public campaigns against gender based violence and domestic violence and ensuring an effective response from the law enforcement and judicial system. To this end, the Commissioner recommends continuing to train law enforcement and judicial officials, strengthening legal assistance to victims, and advises establishing teams of specialised prosecutors and judges to handle cases of gender based violence.