Women & girls’ rights in Europe & Central Asia 

An overview of women’s rights in the region

Women’s rights across Europe and Central Asia vary significantly, with legal advancements in some countries contrasted by gaps in protections and enforcement in others. While all states have ratified  the CEDAW Convention and some have joined the Istanbul Convention, enforcement of international treaty obligations remains inconsistent, and discriminatory laws persist in areas such as sexual violence, child/forced marriage, and domestic abuse. 

Sexual violence and roadblocks to justice

Sexual violence remains widespread and underreported in Europe and Central Asia due to outdated legal definitions, entrenched stereotypes, and systemic failures within law enforcement and judicial systems. 

Most countries still rely on force-based definitions of rape, requiring proof of physical violence or victim resistance, and other restrictive elements (such as immediate threat to life or health, or narrow understanding of incapacitation). These frameworks overlook many situations where victims do not consent or are unable to give free and voluntary consent because of a broad range of coercive circumstances and environments.  Even where laws have improved, such as with consent-based definitions in Ukraine, Moldova and Armenia, implementation remains a challenge.

Women and girls with disabilities face specific barriers to accessing justice, including the lack of reasonable and procedural accommodations, as well as legal provisions that often prevent them from testifying in their own cases, leading to dismissal of these cases and impunity of perpetrators.

Additional key regional issues 

• Burdensome evidentiary standards and corroboration requirements leading to impunity of perpetrators;
• Discriminatory procedures and cases dismissed because of the formal withdrawal of the complaint by the victim or “reconciliation’’ with the perpetrator;
• Victim-blaming and stigma discouraging reporting, particularly in cases of sexual violence and domestic abuse
• Lack of survivor support services, including shelters and legal aid, leaves many women without protection or access to justice
• Marital rape overlooked as a crime  (not regarded as an aggravating factor or specifically criminalized) 

Recommendations for governments across the region:

• Reform national criminal codes to adopt consent-based definitions of sexual violence, in line with CEDAW and Istanbul Convention standards.
• Abolish burdensome evidentiary standards and corroboration requirements to prove sexual violence and discriminatory procedures contributing to additional trauma;
• Put in place manuals and guidelines based on the international human rights framework and train criminal justice actors to ensure survivor-centered procedures 
• Abolish legal provisions that deny persons with disabilities, survivors of sexual violence, access to justice and provide reasonable and procedural accommodations during proceedings.
• Improve data collection and public reporting mechanisms to measure progress and accountability.

> Learn more in our 2019 report, Roadblocks To Justice: How The Law Is Failing Survivors Of Sexual Violence In Eurasia

Child and forced marriage

Despite legal commitments, child, early, and forced marriages (CEFM),  including abduction for forced marriage, persist across the region, with adolescent girls disproportionately affected in marginalized communities. Practices like abductions for forced marriage (“bride kidnapping’’), despite being criminalized with specific articles in countries including Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan, remain underreported and rarely prosecuted, often not viewed as a human rights violation based on cultural justifications.

Many countries permit exceptions to the legal marriage age of 18, undermining protections. Forced marriage often falls outside specific legal provisions and is instead prosecuted under vague charges like “abduction” or “coercion,” obscuring its gendered nature and leading to overlooking the crime. Additionally, most countries in the region do not have specific costed national action plans or policies to implement laws and programs related to CEFM, hampering prevention and response efforts.

Recommendations for governments across the region:

• Set the legal minimum age for marriage at 18 with no exceptions
• Explicitly criminalize forced marriage, including abductions for forced marriage, with strong enforcement mechanisms
• Develop national action plans with cross-sector coordination to prevent and address CEFM (including through information campaigns and economic incentives) and support survivors.

> Learn more in our 2024 report, Breaking Barriers: Addressing Child, Early and Forced Marriage in Eurasia

Sex-discriminatory laws

Many countries in the region retain laws that explicitly or implicitly discriminate on the basis of sex, especially in areas of family law and employment.

• In Russia, women continue to face legal and institutional barriers to equal participation in economic life, including maintaining a list of prohibited jobs for women. 
• Countries such as Ireland and Switzerland have unequal access to parental leave in their laws, as highlighted by our Words and Deeds report. 
• Some countries (such as Azerbaijan) lack specific anti-discrimination legislation with enforcement mechanisms and many countries lack substantive equality provisions in their Constitution (Georgia being the exception).
• Some countries (such as Georgia) have removed “gender” from all legislation and have put in place laws denying LGBTQI+ individuals equal protection.

Recommendations for governments across the region:

• Repealing or amending all laws that discriminate on the basis of sex, including those that reinforce patriarchal norms in family or labor law, or other areas of public and private life
• Introducing constitutional guarantees of substantive equality where absent.
• Establishing law reform commissions and monitoring mechanisms to ensure compliance with international human rights obligations.
• Promoting cross-country collaboration and peer learning to accelerate progress toward legal equality.

Learn more in our 2025 report, Words & Deeds: Holding Governments Accountable in the Beijing+30 Review Process.

Female genital mutilation (FGM)

FGM is present in Europe and Central Asia, particularly within diaspora and ethnic minority communities. Cases have been identified in Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Russia, particularly amongst North Caucasian populations.

Despite growing evidence, legal recognition and enforcement lag behind. Some countries deny FGM’s existence domestically, hindering both prevention and survivor support.

Recommendations for governments across the region:

• Recognizing FGM as a human rights violation and criminalizing it.
• Expanding prevention and protection services, especially within health and education systems.
• Supporting data collection and community-led research to map prevalence and develop tailored interventions.
• Partnering with grassroots and diaspora organizations to challenge harmful practices.

Equality Now in Europe and Central Asia

Equality Now works with partners, mainly across Eastern Europe and Central Asia, to improve access to justice for sexual violence survivors, address harmful practices like child marriage, early and forced marriage, and address legal inequality.