Conference on combating violence against women and girls

The OSCE has strong commitments on combating violence against women and girls (VAWG). On 6^th of March 2019, the main results report of the OSCE-led Survey on the Well-being and Safety of Women was launched. This is the first comparable representative study conducted in South-East Europe and Eastern Europe. The OSCE Gender Section is organizing a high-level conference on 6-7 May 2019 to disseminate the main results of the survey and discuss next steps with key stakeholders.

The OSCE-led survey therefore provides a wealth of information, including data on social norms and attitudes, prevalence rates of violence against women, its consequences as well as reporting and help-seeking by survivors. The research shows that gaps in the ability of local institutions’ to understand and address women’s and girls’ experience of personal insecurity and violence continue to exist. The survey data suggests that beliefs in female subservience, spousal obedience and silence surrounding VAWG continue to persist in the region and that those women who hold such beliefs are more likely to say they have experienced violence.

The main results report and more information about the OSCE-led survey can be found here. 

The conference ‘Commitment – data – action!’ has three main objectives:

1. Create a platform to discuss with key stakeholders (ministries, national gender equality mechanisms, civil society organizations, international organizations) the results of the OSCE-led survey on the well-being and safety of women.
2. Turn the proposed action points of the OSCE-led survey main results report into concrete recommendations on combating violence against women. The recommendations will be documented in the conference report.
3. Identify and deepen synergies between all stakeholders active in combating violence against women and girls, discussing the potential for cross-regional initiatives to improve policies and measures related to the prevention and protection from VAWG.