This Guidance Notes series provides succinct information on the key gender issues in selected policy areas, and to show how gender mainstreaming can be done in practical terms. This set of tools is made available through the EU’s and UN Women’s technical support to the Government of Albania in the context of accelerating the process of EU integration.

The report on “The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on specialist services for victims and survivors of violence in the Western Balkans and Turkey: A proposal for addressing the needs” is a rapid assessment of specialist services to women who experienced violence to better understand the challenges posed to service delivery, as well as to explore new opportunities for innovative approaches in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The rapid assessment was undertaken within the EU-UN Women Regional Programme “Implementing Norms, Changing Minds.”