Gender equality

Women’s empowerment, gender equality and women’s rights are at the core of all the Mission’s activities. The Mission focuses on supporting enactment and implementation of non-discriminatory legal frameworks and policies. Particular attention is given to women’s participation in public and political life and gender-responsive budgeting to ensure that the interests of women and men are equally taken into account in all public policies.

The Mission also raises awareness of the need to eliminate all forms of gender-based violence, including domestic, and works to enhance institutional capacities in this area. It runs programs to improve women’s access to property and inheritance rights.

Through various dialogue initiatives, the Mission also brings together women and girls from across the Western Balkans to strengthen regional co-operation and reconciliation. In addition, it works to empower women and promote their rights in the safety and security sector, by assisting the police service and its management structure to increase the number of women in its ranks. It supports the Kosovo Police and the Association of Kosovo Police Women to develop and implement strategies that contribute to better recruitment, retention and advancement of women in the police force.

The Mission promotes the inclusion of gender equality in the police and judiciary training curricula, legislation and other strategic documents. Furthermore, the Mission supports the police in conducting gender sensitive investigation in domestic violence cases. At the same time, it assists the police in applying the community policing approach as a crucial tool to prevent all forms of gender-based violence, including domestic violence at the local level.