What is the mentoring programme?

Mentoring is a methodology aiming to empower legal professionals, judges, and prosecutors, to strengthen women’s access to justice. Through peer-to-peer learning, mentees explore innovative approaches and address the gender-based inequalities they encounter in their practice. The Mentoring Programme is designed to enhance the continuous learning of justice sector practitioners, specifically judges and prosecutors. By fostering open dialogue and promoting human rights approaches, the mentoring programmes takes a different approach from that used in formal teaching and establishes a connection between theories about access to justice, international human rights law and the daily practice of the practitioners. The mentoring programme is currently being implemented in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.  

For more information, visit the web page of the Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye regional action on “Women's Access to Justice in the Western Balkans”.

 Download the guide for developing a mentoring programme on women’s access to justice for legal professionals in English.
Also available in: ALB, BiH, MKD, MNE, SRB

 What are the greatest challenges by women as justice users?

Lack of gender-sensitivity and awareness among legal professionals.

The influence of harmful gender stereotypes and bias in the exercise of legal professions.

Women face many obstacles in accessing justice, despite formal commitments in the Eastern Partnership region, as in most Council of Europe member states. These barriers rarely reflect problems with the content of laws and policies formally upheld but rather from procedures and practices in implementing them.

 And in the Eastern Partnership Region?

The mentoring programme has been implemented in the Eastern Partnership Regions since 2019 under the EU and Council of Europe joint programme Partnership for Good Governance. You can access the PGG Mentoring Programme website here

For more information, visit the web page of the Partnership for Good Governance regional project “Women's Access to Justice: implementing Council of Europe’s gender equality and violence against women standards”.

 

 
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Назад Empowering Roma women to claim their rights in Türkiye

Türkiye 6 December 2024
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Empowering Roma women to claim their rights in Türkiye

As many as 130 Roma women across Türkiye have gained the tools and confidence to claim their rights and access essential support services thanks to a series of training sessions held from 6-29 November. These sessions, designed to remove barriers to justice and build trust in the legal system, were organised in co-operation with bar associations and municipalities. They took place in eight locations: Gaziantep, Edirne, İstanbul, İzmir, Manisa, Samsun, Tekirdağ, and Zonguldak.

The initiative targeted Roma women facing multiple forms of discrimination, with a particular focus on survivors of domestic violence. According to one trainer, many participants initially expressed reluctance to seek legal remedies due to a lack of trust in protection mechanisms in the system. By raising awareness about their rights and the justice system, the sessions provided participants with vital knowledge and confidence. One trainer described the experience as "an eye-opening event," highlighting its transformative impact on attendees.

Local lawyers selected as trainers participated in a preparatory programme integrated best practices from similar initiatives and featured guidance from the Zero Discrimination Association on effective communication with the Roma community. The association also shared insights into tackling specific legal challenges, equipping trainers with the skills and sensitivity necessary for meaningful engagement.

The initiative's success has paved the way for sustained efforts to empower women in Türkiye. One trainer reported that local bar associations and municipalities plan to continue organising similar training sessions, ensuring the long-term impact and sustainability of the project.

The training sessions were organised by the joint European Union/Council of Europe projects “Fostering Women’s Access to Justice in Türkiye,” * and the European Union/Council of Europe Joint Programme “Promoting good governance and Roma empowerment at local level (ROMACTED II)”.

*The action “Fostering women's access to justice in Türkiye” is part of the European Union and Council of Europe’s joint programme "Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”.

TESTIMONIALS  

 

 “In my group, the mentees, all judges and one clerk, brought some samples of their own past cases/judgements to discuss, compare the reasoning and see if there could be ways to improve them” 

Mentor, Judge from Appellate court

“Motivation in my group was high to participate… Exchanging own experiences was important, and the fact that it was not formal made it wonderful. We found legal solutions to improve access to justice for women".

Mentor, Judge

“[Mentoring] is a process. Stereotypes are so deep that they are difficult to identify, and so it is important to showcase progress on how we overcome our own stereotypes. [We can] speak the language of mentees, and come to discoveries together”

Mentor, lecturer

“Our candidates for magistrate are having the certificate of the course on Women access to justice. Under the curricula of Family Law I added as an obligation to fulfil this course and they showed a lot of interest.”

Mentor, Member of the High Prosecutorial Council

“To be mentor...Very demanding and time consuming. The great thing is that my mentees are highly motivated!…. My mentees and I immediately created a joint group to share thoughts and ideas about what we talked about during the meeting. It is good because there we can think together and look for the best solutions for certain issues. This also encourages ideas.” 

Mentor, Senior public prosecutor

*Овај назив је без прејудицирања статуса и у складу је са Резолуцијом Савета безбедности Уједињених нација 1244 и Мишљењем Међународног суда правде о Декларацији о независности Косова.