News
Council of Europe presents new guide to enhance refugee women's rights
International expert Louise Hooper presented the Guide to the implementation of the Council of Europe Recommendation on Protecting the rights of Migrant, Refugee and Asylum-Seeking Women and Girls at the 10th Meeting of the Council of Europe Network of Focal Points on Migration (NFPM). This...
Stopping violence against women: GREVIO stresses need for risk assessment to keep women safe from violence
The Council of Europe has released a standalone publication focusing on risk assessment and risk management in cases of violence against women and domestic violence, extracted from the 5th general report by GREVIO (the Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic...
Civil society uses digital platforms to raise awareness on violence against women in Serbia
Sloboda Nema Cenu, selected under the call for projects for civil society organisations (CSO), has successfully completed a podcast series aimed at raising awareness of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combatting violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul...
Launch of Phase II of the “Ending violence against women and promoting gender equality” project in Armenia
On 30 January 2025, the second phase of the project "Ending violence against women and promoting gender equality in Armenia" was officially launched in Yerevan. The event brought together representatives from Armenia’s Ministries of Labour and Social Affairs, Education, Justice, and Interior, as...
Strengthening multi-agency response to violence against women and domestic violence
On 29 January 2025, the National Agency for the Prevention and Combating of Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, with support from the Council of Europe, held a thematic workshop on the Istanbul Convention pillars of Coordinated Policies and Prosecution . 45 representatives from key...
Experts discuss Council of Europe draft Recommendation on combating technology-facilitated violence against women and girls
The Council of Europe’s Committee of Experts on combating technology-facilitated violence against women and girls (GEC/PC-eVIO) held its second meeting on 22 and 23 January 2025 in Strasbourg. The GEC/PC-eVIO has been tasked by the Committee of Ministers with preparing a Recommendation on...
Call for proposals for civil society organisations: Communication and advocacy campaigns on the Istanbul Convention
The Council of Europe project “Ending violence against women: multi-country programme” has launched a call for proposals for civil society organisations (CSOs) to develop and implement communication and advocacy initiatives to raise public awareness of the Council of Europe Convention on...
The Council of Europe provided grants to Ukrainian civic organisations to combat violence against women
The Council of Europe project “Combating Violence against Women in Ukraine – Phase II” (COVAW-II) successfully supported three Ukrainian civil society organisations in awareness raising based on the CoE/WAVE/UN Women methodology. All three initiatives, successfully completed in October 2024, were...
Women's success stories: Armenian media breaks stereotypes
Between May and October 2024, four Armenian media organisations successfully completed projects supported by the Council of Europe, to highlight the inspiring success stories of women across the country. These initiatives shed light on women who have defied stereotypes, overcome challenges like...
Final steering committee meeting highlights gender equality progress in Ukraine
On 12 December 2024, the Council of Europe project "Promoting Gender Equality in Ukraine" (Pro-GE) held its final Steering Committee meeting. The project aligns with the Council of Europe’s Gender Equality Strategy for 2024–2029, which aims to ensure equal rights, representation, empowerment,...
Empowering Roma Women to Claim Their Rights in Türkiye
As many as 130 Roma women across Türkiye have gained the tools and confidence to claim their rights and access essential support services thanks to a series of training sessions held from 6-29 November. These sessions, designed to remove barriers to justice and build trust in the legal system,...
Promoting gender equality, and combating violence against women in Armenia - First phase of project completed
On 11 December 2024, partners marked the successful conclusion of the Council of Europe project Ending violence against women and promoting gender equality in Armenia. Around 50 representatives from Armenian state institutions, civil society, media, and international partners met to reflect on...
Justice system professionals strengthen coordinated criminal justice response to domestic violence in the Republic of Moldova
In November and December, four training sessions aimed at enhancing the criminal justice system’s response to domestic violence were held in Chisinau. Organised by the Women's Law Center (CDF), with support from the Council of Europe Office in Chisinau, the sessions brought together a total of...
Empowering women human rights defenders in Georgia - a high-level meeting held in Tbilisi
On 29 November 2024, Representatives of civil society and international organisations gathered for a high-level meeting under the title “Their Fight, Your Future”, dedictaed to advancing the protection and empowerment of women human rights defenders (WHRDs) in Georgia. Held on the International...
Advancing gender equality in Ukraine
The project " Promoting Gender Equality in Ukraine " has developed a brochure "Key Actions for Gender Equality". Based on the Council of Europe Gender Equality Strategy for 2024-2029, the brochure prioritises equal rights and opportunities for all, including disadvantaged groups. The brochure...
Preventing and combating domestic violence - discussions in Baku during the “16 days of activism against gender-based violence”
On 4 December 2024, the Council of Europe Office in Baku hosted a café discussion on “Domestic Violence in the Case Law of the European Court of Human Rights” as part of the “16 days of activism against gender-based violence.” The event provided a platform for informal discussions among 34 civil...
Progress highlighted on combating violence against women in Moldova
On 27 November 2024, key achievements in implementing the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention were the focus of a conference organised by the Council of Europe and the Moldovan Agency for Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence. Bringing together government...
Promoting gender equality and women’s access to justice across the Eastern Partnership and the Western Balkan regions
Judges, prosecutors and representatives from judicial training institutions across the Eastern Partnership and Western Balkans regions met in Tirana, to assess the results of the mentoring programme for legal professionals on women’s access to justice. A series of thematic exchanges were held on...
European Gender Equality Policy-makers hold plenary session in Strasbourg
At its 26th Plenary Session, from 19 to 21 November 2024 in Strasbourg, the Gender Equality Commission (GEC) held several high-level exchanges. The discussions with Michael O’Flaherty, Commissioner for Human Rights highlighted the need for a gendered regulation of AI, the consequence on women and...
Armenian schools foster gender equality through innovative training with Council of Europe support
Around 40 school principals from urban and rural areas of Armenia attended a conference on 20 November on "Gender-responsive education in schools." The event focused on making schools more inclusive by: training teachers to implement gender-responsive teaching practices; promoting equal...
