CEELI Focal Area: Gender Issues
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Since the fall of communism, women in Central
and Eastern Europe and Eurasia have made only modest progress in
addressing problems that |
Lack of gender equality is a major stumbling block to promoting the rule of law around the globe. Evidence shows that societies with greater gender inequality face a higher incidence of poverty, malnutrition and ill health and have lower educational attainment. They also experience slower economic growth and weaker governance.
Achieving gender equality is still a challenge in a majority of CEELI countries. While constitutions in post-communist Eastern Europe and Eurasia largely guarantee equal protection under the law regardless of gender, these rights are seldom enforced. In fact, since the fall of communism, women in this region have made only modest progress in addressing a variety of problems that disproportionately affect them, including domestic violence and discrimination in the workplace.
In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), there has been progress on
improving gender equality in recent decades, including a sharp rise in the
number of educated women. Women, however, are still underrepresented in
political and economic activity. Women in the MENA region face many legal
barriers to their equal participation in society. In contrast to Central and
Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, the MENA region lacks the
legislative framework to secure gender equality. In response to challenges in
our host countries, the ABA has developed a wide array of programming.
Domestic Violence
Domestic violence is a problem that affects women around the world. Studies show that between 25 and 50 percent of all women in the world have been abused by intimate partners. Approximately 95 percent of the victims of domestic violence are women. Under international human rights standards, domestic violence has moved from being viewed as purely a private matter to being seen as an issue of state responsibility: in several international instruments, states are charged with addressing and mitigating the incidence of domestic violence. In many countries in the region, governments have made strong statements about defending women's rights and have promised to abide by international conventions protecting women from abuse. Few states acknowledge, however, that domestic violence exists or pass legislation to combat the problem. CEELI works with NGOs and government officials throughout the region to improve community response to domestic violence, by training stakeholders and improving communication between agencies. For example, in Russia, CEELI provides support to the Samara Coordination Council Against Domestic Violence, a network of NGO and government representatives that conducts a variety of activities, including trainings on domestic violence.
Improving Women’s Access to the Law
Improving women's ability to access legal remedies is an important component of CEELI's gender issues programs. In Russia, CEELI's Social Advocates program provides basic legal trainings for Russian activists on women's rights issues, focusing primarily on the representation of domestic violence victims. The training program created a group of non-lawyer advocates who can provide competent legal aid and effective advocacy for Russian women when the services of professional paid attorneys are unavailable or are simply not affordable. Since its creation in 1999, CEELI has graduated more than 90 participants. CEELI's efforts in Tajikistan have focused on training traveling lawyers to provide consultations at crisis centers, women's community centers, farming communities and health clinics. This program improves women's access to the law by reaching out to them at locations where other services are provided.
Supporting the Development of Women as Legal Professionals
The ABA, in cooperation with governments and NGOs in the Middle East and North Africa, is building a regional and bilateral initiative to support women legal professionals and to promote women's legal rights more generally. In February, sixteen women legal professionals from Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Yemen met in Jordan, to found the Arab Women's Legal Network (AWLN). During the meeting, the founders undertook a strategic planning process to develop the structure of AWLN, which will be based in Jordan. AWLN will operate throughout the Middle East and North Africa, acting as a professional association for women working in the legal profession. The goals of the AWLN include bringing together women professionals to facilitate the exchange of expertise and experience, promote women as decision-makers, provide professional development training and secure women's equal rights under domestic and international law. The AWLN will be an active supporter of professional development, women's legal rights and advocacy. The first annual meeting of the AWLN will take place from July 16 to 18 in Amman, Jordan, and will bring together more than 100 female legal professionals from the aforementioned countries.
CEDAW Assessment Tool
In 2002, CEELI published the CEDAW Assessment Tool, which is designed to measure a country's de jure and de facto compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). CEELI piloted the CEDAW Assessment Tool in Armenia, where it proved to be an important capacity building project for CEELI's local partners and the broader women's rights community. To date, CEELI has implemented the CEDAW Assessment Tool in Georgia, Serbia and Russia and has commenced an assessment in Moldova. CEELI has also successfully leveraged the CEDAW Assessment Tool process to encourage the submission of NGO reports to the United Nation's CEDAW Committee. CEELI has been involved in shadow report writing in Armenia, Belarus, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan. Click here to download the CEDAW Assessment Tool in PDF format.
Human Trafficking Assessment Tool
CEELI recently developed an assessment tool based on the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (also referred to as the "Trafficking Protocol"), which came into force in December 2003. In October 2004, CEELI implemented its assessment tool, which measures a country's de jure and de facto compliance with the Trafficking Protocol, in Moldova. During the assessment process, CEELI interviews a number of government and NGO officials to better understand the obstacles to combating human trafficking. In the report, CEELI highlighted areas of concern that were then translated into recommendations during a workshop held in Moldova. These recommendations will be used to guide future programming on this issue. Click here to download the Human Trafficking Assessment Tool Report for Moldova in PDF format.
For more information about CEELI's initiatives in this focal area,
contact:
Jennifer Denton Jafari, Program Manager <jdenton@abaceeli.org> or Wendy
Patten, Director of Research and Programmatic Development <wpatten@abaceeli.org>.