16 Days of Activism: Act for Prevention. Act for Protection. Act now to end Gender-Based Violence!

One in three women will experience physical, sexual, or other types of abuse in her lifetime.
Less than 40% will seek help. Less than 10% of the most serious cases will ever be reported to the police. The OSCE is fighting to change that.
This year our campaign to combat violence against women focuses on how the OSCE is working to change the grim reality of millions of women and girls who are at risk of violence.

Act for Prevention. Act for Protection. Act now to end Gender-Based Violence!

“No more violence!” — we’re working closely with national authorities to send a strong message through policies and work to protect survivors from all forms of violence.

• The first-ever law preventing violence against women and domestic violence in Kosovo was adopted in 2023 with the help of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo.
• With the support of the OSCE Mission to Skopje, the criminal code in North Macedonia was amended to better protect survivors of domestic violence and criminalize femicide, stalking, sexual harassment, and female genital mutilation.
• Amendments to a domestic violence law supporting services for victims and programmes for changing the behaviour of perpetrators are now being drafted with the help of working groups and the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe.

Changing perceptions is a critical step to ending violence. We’re raising awareness to stop all forms of violence against women.

• 3,315 schoolchildren from schools across Kyrgyzstan have learned about preventing and combating gender-based violence through information sessions supported by the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek.
• Over 300,000 people have been reached by a podcast created by the OSCE Presence in Albania to spread the word about gender equality and ending violence against women in Albania.
• Calls to end sexual harassment have spread across six major cities in Kazakhstan through signs on over 470 buses, 35 bus stops, and 19 LED screens as part of a public transportation campaign supported by the OSCE Programme Office in Astana.
• More than 13,700 women, men, and children in refugee and host communities on both banks of the Dniester/Nistru River have learned how to seek help and break the cycle of violence at events organized by the OSCE Mission to Moldova.

Professionals need comprehensive skills and strong collaboration to protect survivors and effectively deal with perpetrators of violence against women. We are committed to capacity building as a key factor in rooting out violence.

• The OSCE Mission to Moldova supports role model and peer-to-peer mentorship programmes to educate local communities on violence prevention methods, available protection services, and gender equality.
• Police officers in Bosnia and Herzegovina are learning how to effectively deal with domestic violence cases through training supported by the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• Judges, prosecutors, and attorneys in Serbia are working with the support of the OSCE Mission to Serbia to build strong relations so they can, together, address complex legal issues and ensure criminal proceedings are fair and efficient.
• Better and more co-ordinated action by officials, support services, and first responders on domestic violence cases is the aim of a new Municipal Co-ordination Mechanism Against Domestic Violence supported by the OSCE Mission in Kosovo.

Survivors are at the heart of effective systems of protection against violence against women. We’re helping institutions take comprehensive, survivor-focused approaches.

• Over 200 lawyers, prosecutors, and deputy prosecutors in Serbia are now more well-equipped to represent victims of domestic violence and sexual assaults, as well as collect evidence at sexual offense crime scenes thanks in part to support from the OSCE Mission to Serbia.
• The OSCE Mission to Moldova works closely with civil society organizations by delivering training on the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse across the country.
• Over 40 high-level government officials are working with the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina on legislative changes to immediately, strategically, and systematically address the prevention and prosecution of femicide.

‘Knowledge is power’, they say, and that goes for ending violence against women too. We’re advocating for zero tolerance of any form of violence against women.

• A deeper understanding of just how diverse violence against women can really be — from early marriages and bride kidnapping to migration challenges — is now being formed across all seven provinces in Kyrgyzstan through the Women Initiative Group Network supported by the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek.

• How to incorporate gender-sensitive language in public service channels and media in Serbia is under discussion among local administration and media representatives with the support of the OSCE Mission to Serbia.

• An investigative report by the OSCE Mission to Skopje has uncovered challenges in protecting women and girls with disabilities from violence.

Survivors first. We’re helping to ensure survivors of violence against women get their needs met first and have a path to building a new life in a safe environment.

• More than 1,500 survivors of domestic violence in Tajikistan received legal and psychological support and new employment opportunities in 2023 thanks to the Women’s Resource Center supported by the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe.
• 712 women and children refugees from host communities, who are survivors or at risk of violence against women have received support through a specialized violence against women programme for women refugees through the OSCE Mission to Moldova.
• Survivors of violence against women are therapeutically working through their experiences through a microgreen farming programme developed by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro.