On 10 June, the Council of Europe launched Recommendation CM/Rec(2026)2 on accountability for technology-facilitated violence against women and girls at the Palais de l’Europe in Strasbourg and online. The Recommendation was prepared jointly by the Gender Equality Commission (GEC) and the Council of Europe Committee on Crime Problems (CDPC), and was adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 4 March 2026. Building on the Istanbul Convention and in particular GREVIO’s General Recommendation No. 1 on the digital dimension of violence against women, it is the first international legal instrument dedicated to accountability for technology-facilitated violence against women and girls, providing member States with guidance on legal, institutional and regulatory responses.
The launch event brought together representatives of the GEC, the CDPC, Permanent Representations and other interested stakeholders, alongside more than 120 participants joining online from a wide range of professional backgrounds. Expert speakers shared perspectives from law enforcement and prosecution services, civil society and international institutions. Their contributions highlighted the importance of moving beyond recognition of the problem towards effective accountability in practice, including through stronger investigations, evidence-based prosecution, victim-centred justice responses, training of professionals, cross-border co-operation and regulation of technology companies.
Speakers underlined that stronger accountability is needed to bridge the gap between the scale of technology-facilitated violence against women and girls and the responses currently available to victims. They emphasised that effective accountability requires a shared system of responsibility, connecting prevention, justice, healing and support so that responses reinforce one another in practice. In this context, the Recommendation provides a common framework for strengthening accountability by bringing these different dimensions of response together in a more coherent and effective manner.
The event also introduced a set of infographics designed to present the Recommendation’s key provisions and strategic importance in a clear, accessible and engaging way, helping to communicate its core messages to a wide range of audiences.
Listen to the audio recording of the event
