Combating gender-based violence

Violence against women and girls is a human rights violation that not only harms the security and safety of its victims, but also hinders women and girls from being full and equal participants in society. The OSCE is committed to preventing and combating gender-based violence.

The Programme for Gender Issues works with OSCE field operations and institutions to help participating States to prevent and combat violence against women, improve protection and services for survivors of violence and increase security for women and girls overall.

The Programme for Gender Issues collects and analyses data on the prevalence, forms and consequences of violence against women and girls to provide a solid basis for informed decision-making and advocacy.

Every year, the Gender Issues Programme participates in the global campaign 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence to encourage participating States to step up efforts to combat the after-effects of sexual violence and to prevent it from happening in the first place.