Democratization facilitated the establishment of local ­networks of women councillors in three regions in Ukraine, resulting in increased capacity of women to participate in policy and budgeting processes. Networking opportunities were further consolidated through a high-level forum on “Promoting Women’s Political Participation and Representation,” organized in May by ODIHR and the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine. The Forum gathered representatives of ministries, parliament, local government and civil society, as well as international experts and participants from Belarus, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, the Russian Federation and Switzerland. Participants discussed trends and challenges in women’s political participation in the region, strategies to empower women as political party members and elected officials, and measures to promote gender equality through local councils. In 2010, ODIHR also commissioned a baseline study to identify measures to promote women’s political participation, with a specific focus on political parties and voluntary measures. The study proposed a detailed, six-step action plan as a practical tool for guiding government and political party efforts to enhance women’s political participation. The steps proposed in the plan highlight the necessity of a constitutional framework to protect women’s rights, gender-sensitive electoral systems and party laws, the introduction of legal and/ or voluntary measures to enhance women’s participation, gender-sensitive political-party rules, capacity development and awareness raising, and gender-sensitive rules of procedure in parliaments and public office. The recommendations in the study are being used to inform activities within the framework of the Fostering Women’s Participation in Political Parties project, to be implemented in 2011 and 2012. Strengthening National Mechanisms for the Advancement of Women Throughout the OSCE region, national gender-equality mechanisms play a critical role in promoting gender equality, protecting women’s rights and monitoring state compliance with international and national obligations. Such mechanisms are a direct reflection of a state’s commitment to ensuring that gender-equality commitments are implemented in practice. In 2010, ODIHR commissioned a comparative review on the role of national human rights institutions (NHRI) in the OSCE region in protecting women’s rights and promoting gender equality. This initiative highlights the fact that, while national human rights institutions may vary in structure, they face many common procedural, functional and structural challenges in promoting gender equality and protecting women’s rights. The review also proposed measures to address these shortcomings and challenges to be discussed during the “Workshop on the Role of National Human Rights Institutions in the Promotion and Protection of Women’s Rights and Gender Equality,” in March 2011, in Prague. As tasked by the OSCE Gender Action Plan, ODIHR also continues to support participating States in the development of gender-equality legislation and strategies, and action plans on gender and women’s political and public participation. Combating Violence against Women Violence against women is a persistent problem across the OSCE region. It can manifest itself in psychological, physical, sexual and economic abuse, both in the home and in the public sphere. As one of the most widespread and traumatic violations of human rights, violence against women has far-reaching implications for women’s participation in all aspects of social, political, economic and cultural life. Accordingly, ODIHR considers work on the prevention and combating of violence against women as a necessary precursor to activities in the field of women’s participation in public life described above. ODIHR assists participating States in improving the legal framework to combat domestic violence. Strengthening the capacities of lawenforcement agencies, state authorities and civil society to provide adequate and effective responses to cases of violence against women is instrumental to combating this phenomenon. In May, ODIHR organized a study visit to Austria, with the aim of strengthening the capacities of elected officials, civil servants and women’s-rights activists from Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine to combat domestic violence. During the visit, members of the Austrian Parliament, the Women’s Department of Vienna and the Austrian Women’s Shelter Network shared their first-hand experiences and practices in preventing and combating domestic violence. In turn, ODIHR held consultations with Austrian police experts in July, discussing the joint development of a manual on domestic ODIHR Annual Report 2010 29