44 Example The Norwegian and Austrian NHRIs have developed publications on preventing discrimination based on religion or belief for women who wear headscarves. The Austrian ombudsperson institution has intervened with public authorities to inquire why young trainees who wear the headscarf are being refused training opportunities in employment. It has also informed potential employers of the consequences of such discrimination. ! While such forms of religious discrimination can also affect men, they seem to affect women disproportionately, as reported by NHRIs. Example The Croatian Gender Equality Ombudsperson conducted a specialized study examining the judicial treatment of gender-based discrimination cases. By looking at how the courts treat cases of gender-based discrimination, NHRIs are better placed to advocate for change, improve judicial training and develop robust data on how litigants have been dealt with by the courts. HANDBOOK FOR NHRIs ON WOMEN’S RIGHTS AND GENDER EQUALITY human rights-based approaches to socially sensitive or difficult issues. (Further information on research and publications is provided in Section 7.8: Knowledge Management.) 3.4 TRAINING AND CAPACITY BUILDING NHRIs should provide training and capacity building on women’s rights and gender equality, which can be done effectively in collaboration with civil society organizations working on these issues. Despite their importance, the survey shows that training and capacity-building programmes are the leastused promotional strategies reported by NHRIs. While this may be due to insufficient financial or human resources, a number of NHRIs have delivered targeted training and capacity-building programmes on women’s rights and gender equality. Among the activities offered by NHRIs, according to the ODIHR survey, are training for government officials, legal practitioners and law-enforcement officials on women’s rights and gender issues. NHRIs also reported conducting community-based activities to strengthen the capacity of civil society and women’s organizations to protect women’s rights and promote gender equality. For example, NHRIs reported that they: • Organize training on cultural and social issues that affect women and girls, such as forced marriages; • Train civil society organizations on writing shadow reports for CEDAW, as well as follow-up measures and conferences related to CEDAW; • Train civil society organizations on writing shadow reports for other treaty bodies and addressing gender issues in those reports;