Ensuring justice and equality for all women and girls

At its January 2026 plenary session, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) adopted a resolution outlining the EU’s priorities for the 70th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UN CSW70). With a strong focus on access to justice, women’s participation in public life and the elimination of gender‑based violence, the EESC sets out a roadmap to strengthen women’s rights and reinforce democracy across Europe and beyond.

The resolution builds on the EESC’s longstanding engagement with global gender‑equality frameworks and its sustained cooperation with the European Union at the UN level. With democratic backsliding, harassment in digital and real life and structural discrimination affecting women and girls in every region of the world, the Committee calls for a renewed commitment to advancing women’s rights in all their diversity and for placing access to justice at the centre of this work.

Barriers, solutions and renewed commitment

During the plenary debate preceding the adoption of the resolution, the three rapporteurs underlined the urgent need to remove the obstacles that prevent women and girls from accessing justice. Christa Schweng stressed that too many still face legal, financial, social and digital barriers that keep them from defending their rights, and emphasised society’s role in ensuring justice systems are accessible, affordable and gender‑responsive. Access to justice means removing discriminatory laws and practices, guaranteeing affordable and quality legal aid, and building gender‑responsive justice systems where women are represented, respected and protected. Societies become fairer, more resilient and more democratic when women and girls can claim their rights without fear or hindrance.

Juliane Marie Neiiendam reaffirmed the EESC’s long‑standing commitment to gender equality and the rule of law, noting that access to justice underpins all other rights. She pointed to the persistence of discriminatory laws, socio‑economic barriers and unequal access to legal support, calling for concrete action through national access‑to‑justice plans, improved legal aid and better digital access to legal information. Giulia Barbucci added that access to justice is embedded in international commitments such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and stressed the essential role of civil society and social partners in supporting women who face discrimination, exploitation or violence and struggle to reach judicial systems. Together, the speakers urged Member States and institutions to dismantle structural barriers and turn legal rights into lived reality.

Placing women’s rights at the heart of justice systems

The EESC highlights that access to justice is both a fundamental human right and a precondition for all other rights. Yet millions of women and girls — in Europe and globally — continue to face legal, financial, cultural and digital obstacles that prevent them from exercising their rights or seeking redress.

To address these barriers, the Committee calls for reforms that eliminate discriminatory laws, guarantee affordable and high‑quality legal aid, strengthen gender‑responsive judicial institutions and protect the safety and confidentiality of survivors of violence throughout legal proceedings. The resolution also emphasises the need for more women in judicial careers, as well as mandatory training on gender bias for judges, police and legal professionals.

Digitalisation also plays a key role. The EESC urges Member States to expand digital literacy, simplify access to legislation and ensure that online information tools are accessible to all women, regardless of their background or socioeconomic situation.

Supporting participation, safety and equality in public life

Alongside the priority theme of access to justice, UN CSW70 will review progress on women’s participation in public life and efforts to eliminate violence against women. The EESC reiterates longstanding positions on the need for equal representation of women in political, economic and public decision‑making, and for a firm stance of zero tolerance toward gender‑based violence, both online and offline.

The Committee stresses the urgent need to protect women human‑rights defenders and civil society organisations, especially in contexts where civic space is shrinking. It also calls for intersectional approaches that recognise how factors such as disability, migration background, socioeconomic status or sexual orientation compound discrimination and limit women’s participation.

To strengthen public participation, the EESC supports mentoring, capacity‑building and active measures to counter gender stereotypes and disinformation, ensuring inclusive democratic spaces for future generations.

Turning commitments into concrete progress

The EESC outlines its own role in driving the implementation of CSW70 outcomes. As the voice of organised civil society in the EU, the Committee commits to:

• Promoting structured social and civil dialogue to support gender‑responsive justice reform
• Advocating gender mainstreaming and gender‑responsive budgeting
• Strengthening awareness‑raising on legal rights, digital safety and violence prevention
• Supporting cooperation across EU institutions, Member States, civil society and social partners

The Committee also calls for robust monitoring and accountability mechanisms, including improved judicial and administrative data collection, with sex‑disaggregated and intersectional indicators. Such data is essential to track progress, identify gaps and ensure that commitments translate into real improvements in women’s daily lives.

A decisive moment for women’s rights

As global tensions rise and gender equality faces renewed backlash, the EESC warns that the EU must continue to show leadership, both through its internal policies and its international engagement. Ensuring access to justice for all women and girls is not only key to protecting human rights, the rule of law and democratic resilience, but also essential for building a fair, inclusive and gender‑equal Europe.