Gender Equality Developments | June 2020




▶ Version française

Council of Europe Activities on Women’s rights and the COVID-19 crisis

A new dedicated resource page was created to present the actions taken by member states of the Council of Europe, as well as by its different bodies, by international organisations and civil society to analyse and mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women’s rights and gender equality. This webpage serves as a platform for exchange of practices and as a resource tool for anyone seeking information about the actions taken by different stakeholders in this areas.
A webinar on “Violence against women and girls before, during and after COVID-19” was also organised on 20 May 2020 by the Violence against Women Division and the Council of Europe Academic Networks, to look at issues such as impacts of the lockdown, technology-facilitated violence and women’s protection needs in light of the requirements of the Istanbul Convention.
The need for co-ordinated governmental action to combat violence against women during the crisis was also stressed in a Declaration of the Committee of the Parties to the Istanbul Convention and in a Statement of the President of the Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO).


COMBATING SEXISM AND DISCRIMINATION

New Case-Law Guide on Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights

The new Guide published by the European Court of Human Rights, sums up the case-law on Article 14 “Prohibition of Discrimination” of the Convention. The Guide analyses discrimination by ground (sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinions,etc.) and by topic (private and family life, social rights, employment, education, access to justice, etc.).

New Languages Versions of Tools on Combating Sexism available

In the framework of the Campaign Sexism: See it. Name it. Stop it., the communications versions of the tools (action page, quiz and video) have been made available in Albanian, Armenian, Serbian, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish. These tools aim at raising awareness of the 2019 Council of Europe Recommendation on preventing and combating sexism adopted by the Council of Europe in 2019.The Recommendation is now available in 19 languages.


ACTIVITIES TO COMBAT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

New Infographics on the Istanbul Convention

The Council of Europe Gender Equality Division has produced a set of infographics illustrating the four pillars of the Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention): prevention, protection, prosecution and co-ordinated policies. They provide an interactive summary of the policies, measures and actions which countries that have ratified the Istanbul Convention must take to fully implement it.

Online Training for Legal Professionals on Domestic Violence and its impact on Human Rights

An online training was organised in Kosovo* for over 40 professionals on ”Domestic Violence and its implications to Human Rights”, focusing on the need to apply human rights standards such as the Council of Europe Convention on Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence and European Court of Human Rights’ case law in the local legal practice. 20 prosecutors were similarly trained in Georgia and the course is available in Georgian.
*All references to Kosovo, whether the territory, institutions or population, in this text shall be understood in full compliance with United Nation's Security Council Resolution 1244 and without prejudice to the status of Kosovo.

New Resources on the Work of the Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence

The First General Activity Report (2015-2019) of the Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO) was published. This report offers insights into the trends and challenges in the implementation of the Istanbul Convention.
A new HUDOC-GREVIO database was also developed. It allows access to comprehensive information and filtering based on different criteria (country, date, key words, forms of violence etc.)


PROMOTING GENDER EQUALITY IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Final Results of the Council of Europe Project “Co-operation on the implementation of the Russian Federation National Action Strategy for Women (2017–2022)"

The project which concluded in April 2020 focused on developing knowledge and skills in fighting against violence against women and domestic violence and fostering women’s participation in public and political life. Among other products, two publications were produced, one report on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence and one report on achieving balanced participation in Russian Federation, which are available in English and Russian.

Council of Europe, Avenue de l'Europe F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex
Tel. +33 (0)3 88 41 20 00

www.coe.int