last updated September 24, 2018

Women's human rights training is an advocacy strategy used to both inform participants about complex problems and concepts and also to change the way that the participants respond to gender-based violence.  The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women highlights gender-sensitive training as one of the essential measures States should undertake in order to effectively implement the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination.  In General Recommendation 19, the Committee recommends both "[g]ender-sensitive training of judicial and law enforcement officers and other public officials . . . " and "education and public information programmes to help eliminate prejudices which hinder women's equality." (Rec. 24 (b) and (f)).

Successful training initiatives addressing gender-based violence should target a broad audience, including non-governmental organizations (NGOs), social service providers, law enforcement agencies, the judiciary, government officials, the media, relevant professionals, at-risk groups and the general public.  Training programs aimed at addressing violence against women should focus the attention of the participants on desired changes in society and governmental agencies and on the concrete steps that need to be taken to eliminate violence and provide support for victims. 

The Advocates for Human Rights train governmental and non-governmental systems professionals on women's human rights issues, as well as capacity building, monitoring and documentation, and advocacy. For additional information on trainings, please contact Rose Park at rpark@advrights.org.