Strengthening Women’s Rights with Centre for Legal and Civil Initiatives

Our cooperation with Centre for Legal and Civil Initiatives, CLCI, aims at increasing women’s access to justice. This is done by providing free legal assistance, monitoring the implementation of the Law on domestic violence, and organising awareness raising activities in regard to women’s rights among the general population.

We have together with CLCI in previous years produced two monitoring reports on the implementation of the Domestic Violence Law, and in 2010 a third report will be made. The report will be used as a tool for improving the implementation of the law as well as the coordination among different actors involved.

With the same purpose a regional training for lawyers and NGOs on the content and mechanisms of the law will be organised. CLCI works with university students in so called pro bono teams, and they will increase the students’ capacities through guidance from the lawyers of the Center.

During 2010, CLCI will be more active in using media to raise the awareness on prevention and protection from domestic violence and to make responsible actors become more aware about their legal responsibilities.

The Centre for Legal Civic Initiatives was established in 1997. The organisation focuses on providing free legal aid and psychosocial support to victims of trafficking and domestic violence. They are also active in legislative analyses. Civil Rights Defenders started to cooperate with CLCI in 2007.