On 1-2 October 2024, in Dilijan, Armenia, the Council of Europe held the networking conference “Together to empower” which brough together over 17 civil society organisations, including well-established groups and organisations recently founded by refugee women. The event helped to take key steps in strengthening the capacities of CSOs in supporting refugee women and promoting their social and economic inclusion in Armenia.

The conference helped to equip CSOs with more effective strategies to address the challenges faced by refugee women. Participants engaged in interactive discussions on building coalition, fostering inter-agency cooperation, and improving communication among CSOs.

The participants  also explored international frameworks, such as the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention) and the Council of Europe Recommendation CM/Rec(2022)17 “Protecting the rights of migrant, refugee and asylum-seeking women and girls”. These frameworks are essential tools for safeguarding the rights of refugee women and girls. Additionally, emerging issues, such as the digital dimension of violence against women (for example, online sexual harassment or cyber stalking), were also discussed.

A representative of a participating CSO stated, “This networking opportunity has been instrumental in uniting our efforts and will undoubtedly strengthen our advocacy for refugee rights and improve our collective response.”

The event was organised in the framework of the Council of Europe project “Ending violence against women and promoting gender equality in Armenia”.