In the framework of the project on Strengthening the Independence, Efficiency and Professionalism of the Judiciary in Ukraine, funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), the Directorate General of Human Rights and Rule of Law of the Council of Europe initiated an assessment of gender. During 1–3 July 2014, Greta Gober (Council of Europe’s expert on gender issues), Elina Skyshkina (Ukrainian national expert on gender issues), Andrii Kavakin (manager of the project), and Veronika Malytska (translator) participated in a series of meetings and discussions with Ukrainian project counterparts to provide a wide-scope assessment on how gender-related issues can be incorporated in general judicial reform efforts in Ukraine.

During the 3-day visit in Kiev, mission participants met with judges and representatives from:

The Supreme Court of Ukraine,The High Specialized Court of Ukraine on Civil and Criminal Cases,The High Administrative Court of Ukraine,The High Commercial Court of Ukraine,The State Judicial Administration,The National School of Judges of Ukraine,The Centre for Judicial Studies,The manager of the Council of Europe’s project “Preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence in Ukraine”,Gender experts working on projects coordinated by other international donors (USAID FAIR Justice Project, CIDA Judicial Education for Economic Growth Project), andRepresentatives of the International Organization for Migration.The High Council of Justice and the High Qualification Commission for Judges didn’t agree to meet with the mission’s experts, explaining that the topic of gender is not relevant for their field.

The main objective of the mission was to provide the project with a set of recommendations on how to include the gender equality dimension in project activities while highlighting possible barriers and problems concerning their implementation. Experts explored the judicial community's receptiveness to conducting a gender bias inquiry in the judiciary.

The report defines gender bias following Danforth and Welling (1996) as behaviors or decision-making in the justice system based on or revealing:

Stereotypical attitudes about the nature and roles of men and women;Cultural perceptions of men’s and women’s relative worth;Myths and misconceptions about the social and economic realities encountered by both sexes.While judges and lawyers in many countries deny that gender bias is a problem, a specially designated Task Force on Gender Bias is an important step in countering the denial of bias. The report identifies three entry points where gender bias in the justice system needs to be addressed:

Gender Bias in Access to the Justice systemGender Bias in Courtroom DynamicsGender Bias in Court RulingsIn order for the enquiry in these three areas to take place, a properly constituted, focused, and prepared long-term Gender Bias Task Force is recommended.