Women’s Rights Advocacy

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Advocacy activities of the Women’s Resource Center include: monitoring government policies, laws,  regulations related to various groups of women and raising current problems, advocating the use of rights-based and gender-sensitive approaches in the development and implementation of state policies and legislation. 

Our advocacy activities are based on the experience of working with different groups of women, including women with disabilities, women living with HIV, rural women, LBT+ women, Yezidi women, also women subjected to domestic and sexual violence, and the issues raised by women from these communities and professionals working with them.

We advocate on the following topics: 

  • gender equality,
  • gender violence,
  • raising issues of women’s human rights and sexual and reproductive health legislation and public policy, and implementing measures for social change at the decision-making level.

Our advocacy work includes national and international levels.

At the national level, the organization  implements advocacy aimed at ensuring gender sensitivity and human rights in domestic legislation and policies, which will serve to protect women of different groups from gender discrimination, as well as guarantee the realization of the rights to decent work and payment, freedom from violence and harassment, quality education, and access to healthcare in everyday life.

At the international level, the organization: 

  • Drafts and advocacy of shadow reports to UN Contracting bodies and special reporters.
  • Advocates at the national level for proposals made to the state by the UN Contracting bodies.
  • Advocates for women’s rights in other international platforms, including the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the European Union.

Advocacy at the international level helps us influence decision makers at the national level.

The activities of the organization’s advocacy team include:

  • Conducting studies, researches, legal analyzes in the field of protection of women’s rights;
  • Presenting them to decision makers in order to make the policies and laws developed and implemented in the sector  more gender-sensitive.
  •  Influencing domestic laws and decisions through strategic litigation.
  • Working with different groups of women and involving them in advocacy work.
  • Presenting the realization of women’s rights in Armenia at various international platforms.

The Women’s Resource Center is affiliated with:

         State institutions

  • Public Council under the Minister of Justice of the RA
  • Public Council under the Ministry of Health  of the RA
  • Public Council under the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs
  • Public Council under the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports
  • Human Rights Strategy Coordinating Council

       International and local networks

  • National Assembly – Civil Society Platform
  • Armenian Gender-Thematic Groups 
  • The Armenian National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum
  • Open Society Foundations – Partnership for Open Society Initiative of Armenia
  • Human Rights House Yerevan
  • Coalition to Stop Violence Against Women
  • Non-Discrimination and Equality Coalition
  • ASTRA network for sexual and reproductive health and rights