such, local women's organizations tend to be key part- 2. Preventing and combating violence against women, particularly domestic violence ners in ODIHR programmes that promote women’s political participation. In Armenia, for example, the ODIHR held seminars in 2004 on the empowerment of women and men In preventing and combating domestic violence, the through lobbying for the integration of gender aspects ODIHR tries to enhance awareness that violence is not a in national curricula, and, through the training-of- private matter; it is a crime and, as such, cannot be tol- trainers component of these seminars, the Office em- erated. The Office also promotes co-operation between phasized the development of capacity among trainers government structures and civil society on mechanisms at the grass-roots level to identify and implement local to prevent and combat violence, improving local capac- projects in rural areas. As a result of this approach to ity to deal with this difficult issue in a more effective developing women’s leadership in a community con- manner. text, a pool of skilled trainers has been established, focusing on teachers, lawyers, and other professionals ac- The ODIHR expanded its previous activities in Azerbai- tive in promoting equal participation of women in jan in 2004, adding support for co-operation between democratization and gender equality in education. civil society, health-care personnel, and the Health Min- This expertise is utilized in furthering the overall goal istry in order to develop a common approach to the of institutionalizing gender education and integrating issue of violence against women. gender aspects into government structures, beginning with mentoring programmes in governmental educa- In Georgia, the ODIHR addressed the inadequacy of tion structures. community resources by supporting a shelter in Tbilisi for women who have fallen victims to violence, as well In Kyrgyzstan, ODIHR-supported women’s networks as regional support networks. Personnel from the shel- worked to increase women’s representation in local ter travelled to Poland for training, where they were government by promoting equal opportunities for able to develop expertise, management skills, and important contacts. women and men in political and public life. Their efforts contributed to a 20 per cent increase in the number of women voting in local elections in October. Fol- 3. Building local gender expertise lowing an ODIHR training seminar, 116 Kyrgyz women from the Women Can Do It! network ran for office, 80 of whom were elected to various municipal positions, Women face difficulties in economic and political life and five network members were elected to regional throughout the OSCE area. The inequality and discrim- councils out of the 25 candidates, thus becoming the ination they encounter is influenced by, among other first and only women representatives in the country’s factors, the prevalence of traditional attitudes and lim- recent history. While the overall number of elected ited, stereotyped expectations. In many emerging women in Kyrgyzstan remains low, this first experience democracies, young women from outside large cities of women in public office constitutes a major achieve- are particularly affected by such practices; this prevents ment of the ODIHR programme. them from finding economic and professional opportunities, as they remain generally unaware of their rights under international and domestic law. There- 32