On 3 June 2026, the Vice-President of the Court, Ivana Jelić, spoke at a thematic debate on the protection of women, children, and the fight against domestic violence, organised in Strasbourg by the Monegasque Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.

In addition to Vice-President Jelić, Christophe Robino, Minister for Social Affairs and Health of Monaco, and Maria Andriani Kostopoulou, President of the Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO), also took part in the debate, which was moderated by Ambassador Gabriel Revel.

The Vice-President’s intervention centred on the evolving protection of women and children under the European Convention on Human Rights, with a focus on the Court’s recent judicial work in this field.

Noting a marked rise in the number of applications concerning gender-based violence, Vice-President Jelić elaborated on developments emerging from the Court’s most recent case-law regarding consent, secondary victimisation, the root causes of gender-based violence, and intersectional discrimination.

With respect to children’s rights, the Vice-President presented examples from the Court’s latest case-law illustrating how the Court protects the “best interests” of the child, the status of children as autonomous rights holders and their participation in judicial proceedings, and children in the context of armed conflict.
The Minister for Social Affairs and Health of Monaco presented the main priorities of Monaco’s policies on the protection of women, children, and the fight against domestic violence, while the President of GREVIO focused her intervention on the Istanbul Convention and on women’s rights.