Yesterday, 4th March 2026, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted a new recommendation on responsibility for digital violence against women and girls (Recommendation CM/Rec(2026)2). Tryggvi Hallgrímsson, a specialist at the Directorate of Equality, served as Vice-Chair of the multinational expert committee that developed the recommendation.

The recommendation provides guidance to member states on how to strengthen legal, institutional, and regulatory responses to digital violence against women and girls. Such responsibility includes not only responses after offences have occurred, but also preventive measures and proactive actions that foster a society where such violence is neither facilitated, tolerated, justified, nor left unchallenged.

The recommendation is the first international framework to specifically address accountability for digital violence against women and girls. It builds on earlier international standards, including the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.

The recommendation will be formally presented at an international event at the Palais de l’Europe in Strasbourg on 10 June 2026 under the title From standards to action: making accountability for technology-facilitated violence against women and girls a reality. The event will address next steps in implementing the recommendation and the actions that various actors—including governments, prosecutors, law enforcement, regulatory authorities, technology companies, and civil society organisations—can take in their work.

Link to the recommendation here
Registration for the event is available here