News
European gender equality policy-makers to meet in Strasbourg
The 26th plenary meeting of the Gender Equality Commission (GEC) will take place in Strasbourg on 19-21 November 2024. A highlight of the agenda will be an exchange with Yuriko Backes, Luxembourg Minister for Defence, for Mobility and Public Works and for Gender Equality and Diversity. This...
Ukrainian legal professionals exchange on executing European Court of Human Rights domestic violence rulings
On 31 October 2024 the Council of Europe held a roundtable “European Court of Human Rights and women’s rights: execution of ECtHR judgements in cases “Levchuk v.Ukraine No.17496/19 and “Ivashkiv v.Ukraine No.59670/14”, gathering together Ukrainian lawyers, judges, prosecutors, representatives of...
Council of Europe Gender Equality Rapporteurs (GERs) participated in a training workshop on gender equality and intersectionality mainstreaming.
On 5-6 November, a group of Gender Equality Rapporteurs (GERs) participated in the annual training entitled: “ Working to transform: Training workshop on gender equality and intersectionality mainstreaming”, organised by the Council of Europe Gender Equality Division. Gender Equality Rapporteurs...
Bosnia and Herzegovina advances discussions on consent-based legal definition of sexual violence
On 23 October 2024, representatives from institutions, the judiciary and civil society gathered in Sarajevo for a peer-to-peer event aimed at incorporating a definition of sexual violence based on the absence of consent into Bosnia and Herzegovina's criminal legislation. The event, organised by...
Path to justice: Conference highlights need for gender-sensitive approaches in Türkiye’s earthquake recovery
Addressing the unique legal challenges faced by women in Türkiye’s earthquake-affected regions requires urgent, gender-sensitive reforms in disaster recovery frameworks— this was concluded at the “Conference on women’s access to justice after the earthquakes”, organised by UN Women Türkiye and...
Strengthening legal advocacy on women’s rights in Türkiye
Legal experts and civil society representatives from nine cities in Türkiye are now equipped with key legal strategies to effectively use litigation as a tool to protect and promote women’s rights. This achievement follows an online training session held on 25 October 2024, attended by 13...
Guidelines on gender-sensitive journalism in Armenia –with a focus on reporting on women refugees
New guidance on gender-sensitive journalism is now available for media professionals in Armenia. Gender-sensitive reporting can reshape societal norms, especially in today's media-driven world where gender-based violence, forced displacement, and disinformation have profound impacts. The...
Armenian delegation visits Sweden to exchange on combating violence against women
From 21 to 23 October, Armenian representatives from five state agencies and four civil society organisations participated in a study visit to Stockholm, Sweden. The visit focused on learning from Sweden’s legislative framework, practices, challenges, successes, as well as co-operation between...
Council of Europe publishes study on digital violence against women in the Republic of Armenia
The study highlights the rise of digitally facilitated violence against women in Armenia, including cyberstalking, online harassment, and the non-consensual sharing of intimate images and reveals the gaps in Armenia’s legal and support systems for addressing digital violence. It also provides a...
Training on the protection of migrant, refugee, and asylum-seeking women from violence in the Republic of Moldova
On 9 and 10 October, 26 officers (8 men and 18 women) from the General Inspectorate for migration and the border police of the Republic of Moldova participated in a training focused on Articles 60 and 61 of Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and...
Launch of data collection guidelines and indicators on violence against women in the Republic of Moldova
On 3 October 2024, the National Agency for the prevention and combating of violence of the Republic of Moldova presented guidelines and indicators (compendium) on violence against women and domestic violence. Supported by the Council of Europe and UNFPA, the compendium was developed to enhance...
A new manual for Ukrainian prosecutors on “working with victims of sexual violence during armed conflict” released
A new Council of Europe publication - a Manual “Working with victims of sexual violence during armed conflict: A manual for Ukrainian prosecutors” has been released targeting Ukrainian prosecutors who organise pre-trial and support public prosecution in cases of conflict related sexual violence....
Civil society’s role in supporting refugee women and girls in Armenia
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...
First meeting of Committee of Experts on tech-facilitated violence against women and girls
The Committee of Experts on combating technology-facilitated violence against women and girls (GEC/PC-eVIO) held its first meeting on 1-2 October 2024 in Strasbourg. The GEC/PC-eVIO has been tasked by the Committee of Ministers to prepare a Recommendation on combating technology-facilitated...
Empowering refugee women in Armenia
Four projects funded by the Council of Europe and implemented by civil society organisations (CSOs) have successfully carried out between April and September 2024. These initiatives, focused on promoting social and economic inclusion of refugee women, preventing gender-based violence against...
Exploring AI and gender equality - a public lecture on combatting gender bias in technology takes place in Tbilisi
On 18 September 2024, Dr Silvia Semenzin’s public lecture in Tbilisi gathered civil society representatives, students, and professionals to explore the risks and potentials of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in promoting gender equality. The event focused on the influence of AI systems on gender...
The Committee of Experts on Artificial Intelligence, Equality and Discrimination held its second meeting
The Committee of Experts on Artificial Intelligence, Equality and Discrimination (GEC/ADI-AI) held its second meeting on 25-26 September 2024 in Strasbourg. The Committee discussed the first draft of the Recommendation on the impact of artificial intelligence systems on equality, including gender...
Council of Europe and DataFest Tbilisi: Promoting gender equality and non-discrimination through data-driven initiatives
From 19 to 21 September 2024, Tbilisi hosted DataFest, the largest annual data conference in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. This year marked the third consecutive year that the Council of Europe Office in Georgia supported the festival. The collaboration centred on increasing awareness of the...
Joining forces with women's organisations to combat violence against women in Türkiye
On 18 September 2024, in the efforts to support civil society organisations in Türkiye to improve the accessibility and quality of legal aid services for women, an online discussion was organised with the support of the European Union and the Council of Europe. 34 civil society representatives...
Lessons learned from the mentoring programme for legal professionals on women's access to justice
On 17 September 2024, at the third Steering Committee meeting of the regional action “Women’s access to justice in the Western Balkans”, project partners and other stakeholders analysed the lessons learned and successes from its pioneering Mentoring programme for legal professionals aimed at...
