The Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO) adopted its questionnaire to monitor the implementation of the Istanbul Convention by state Parties, on the occasion of its fifth meeting in Paris, 9-11 March 2016. Based on this questionnaire, GREVIO will draw up and publish reports evaluating legislative and other implementation measures.
Published in March 2016, the WAVE Thematic Paper "Access to Justice for Women Victims of Violence: Analysis and Key Tenets of International Law and Practice in the Field" was developed by lawyer Genoveva Tisheva, of WAVE member Bulgarian Gender Research Foundation (BGRF). The thematic paper 'explores the notion of access to justice for women victims of violence, as well as barriers to such access, including gender stereotyping and additional vulnerabilities. Additionally, it addresses achievements in the access to justice before international human rights bodies. Further, the balance between ensuring the autonomy of women survivors of violence in initiating procedures for protection of their rights and the obligation of the state to ensure public prosecution of aggressors in criminal law is also discussed. The indispensable role of civil society organisations, in particular women’s NGOs, in facilitating access to justice for women survivors of violence is one of the core arguments put forward in the present paper.'
Because in all countries - regardless of political system, religious beliefs and traditions - what judges and courts say has a tremendous influence on the sense of justice and on women's day-to-day life, the international human rights organisations Women's Link Worldwide has created the Gender Justice Uncovered Awards.
The awards aim "to highlight decisions or statements made in the context of a legal process by judges, members of human rights committees, asylum offices, prosecutors, or ombudspersons which have a positive or negative impact on gender equality, including those related to sexual and reproductive rights, gender violence, and gender discrimination."
The Council of Europe recently published the training of trainers manual "Effective Multi-agency Co-operation for Preventing and Combating Domestic Violence".
Developed by Rosa Logar and Branislava Marvánová Vargová of the WAVE Network, the manual aims 'to serve as a resource for trainers to explore some of the benefits and key principles of multi-agency work for supporting victims of domestic violence and violence against women. It may also be used by individual professionals as a learning resource for background theoretical and practical information, as well as a source of best practice models.'
The publication is divided into two parts:
