Reliable, gender-sensitive data is key to understanding the barriers women face in accessing justice. To discuss how to improve such data, representatives of authorities, justice and statistical institutions and civil society of the Republic of Moldova met at a roundtable in Chisinau.
The meeting brought the regional work on gender-sensitive justice data collection to the national level, building on exchanges launched with Eastern Partnership stakeholders. Participants discussed the Guidelines on gender-sensitive justice data collection, developed through the regional assessment of women’s access to justice and considered how their principles could be applied in the Moldovan context.
“Closing gender data gaps is not only about improving statistics. It is about making women’s experiences visible. It is about ensuring that justice reforms are based on behaviourally informed evidence. And it is about helping institutions better fulfil their responsibility to guarantee equal access to justice for all,” said Natalia Voutova, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Chisinau.
One of the identified priorities was to look beyond official statistics and capture women’s actual experiences of the justice system. User satisfaction questionnaires, legal needs and population surveys and research by civil society organisations could all help show the barriers women face when seeking justice. Training on data quality, statistical analysis and data protection, as well as clearer reporting and dashboards, were also identified as areas where further support could help turn existing data into better-informed policies and services.
The roundtable provided a basis for continued co-operation with partners from the Republic of Moldova. As an immediate next step, taking stock of existing indicators and institutional responsibilities could help avoid duplication and provide a sound basis for further work.
This event was organised as part of the European Union and the Council of Europe joint programme “Partnership for Good Governance”, co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe, in the framework of the regional project “Women’s Access to Justice: implementing Council of Europe gender equality and violence against women standards”.
