Third Women’s Human Rights Training Institute Commences

The Bulgarian Gender Research Foundation, in cooperation with the Center for Reproductive Rights and the Network of East-West Women, hosted the first session of the Third Women’s Human Rights Training Institute from November 12 to 18, 2009, in Sofia, Bulgaria. The first session is an introductory session on the three main themes of the Institute: reproductive rights, violence against women, and employment discrimination.

The Institute is a four-part, two-year series of seminars, workshops, and trainings for twenty-five select lawyers working on women’s rights in Central and Eastern Europe, Baltic countries, and former Soviet Union States. The first two Institutes were held from 2004 to 2006 and from 2007 to 2009 respectively, and have trained over 30 lawyers.

The goal of the Institute is to strengthen participants’ ability to litigate cases concerning women’s human rights at the national, regional, and international levels, in particular in the areas of reproductive rights, violence against women, and employment discrimination. To that end, the Institute develops participants’ capacity to analyze cases and frame legal arguments. Technical workshop sessions cover the European Court of Human Rights, European Court of Justice, and United Nations treaty body mechanisms. The Institute also fosters cross-border cooperation and professional networking between participants.

Find out more about the Women’s Human Rights Training Institute.