Call for Proposals: CSO Grants for supporting Women’s Access to Justice in Türkiye

Deadline: 03-Jun-2024

Within the framework of the action on “Fostering women’s access to justice in Türkiye” implemented under the joint European Union (EU) and Council of Europe (CoE) Programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye” (Horizontal Facility), the CoE is launching a call for grants, open to applications of civil society organisations (CSOs) registered and operating in Türkiye.

Objective

• The grants will fund projects designed to support women in their access to justice, increasing their legal awareness and literacy, empowering them to claim their rights and report violations, and seek support and justice through available legal remedies and services, including legal aid, while preferably seeking co-operation with local partners including local bar association(s).
• The proposed applications should focus on empowering and supporting women as right-holders, especially groups of women in vulnerable or disadvantaged situations such as women victims of gender-based violence, victims of the earthquakes in February 2023, refugees, migrants, Roma women and girls, women living in rural areas etc.

Funding Information

• The indicative available budget under this call for proposals is 45 000 Euros (forty-five thousand Euros).
• The Council of Europe intends to award minimum 3 (three) grants of a maximum amount of 15 000 Euros (fifteen thousand Euros) each.

Implementation Period

• The implementation period of the projects should start on 1 July 2024 and shall not extend beyond 1 July 2025.
• Reporting requirements shall be completed on within two months after the completion of the project’s implementation.

Target Groups 

• Projects should target in particular the following groups in Türkiye facing difficulties in accessing to justice, legal aid, legal assistance and information:
  • Women and girls who are victims of gender-based violence,
  • Women and girls affected by the earthquakes of February 2023,
  • Victims of early, child and forced marriages,
  • Women and girls in vulnerable situations (such as refugees and migrants, Roma women, women living in rural areas, etc.),

Eligibility Criteria

• In order to be eligible for a grant, an applicant must:
  • be legally constituted and functioning as a Civil Society Organisation (CSO) under the relevant laws in the Republic of Türkiye;
  • be entitled to carry out in the Republic of Türkiye the activities described in its project proposal;
  • have been active for at least 4 years in the field of promoting women’s access to justice, women’s human rights, gender equality or preventing and combating violence against women;
  • have sufficient financial capacity (stable and sufficient sources of funding) to maintain its activity throughout the period for which the grant is awarded and to participate by way of its own resources (including human resources or in-kind contributions);
  • have sufficient operational and professional capacity, including staff, to carry out activities described in its project proposal;
  • have a bank account.

Ineligible

• Applicants shall be excluded from the grant award procedure where they or, in the case of legal persons, their owner(s) or executive officer(s):
  • have been sentenced by final judgment on one or more of the following charges: participation in a criminal organisation, corruption, fraud, money laundering, terrorist financing, terrorist offences or offences linked to terrorist activities, child labour or trafficking in human beings;
  • are in a situation of bankruptcy, liquidation, termination of activity, insolvency or arrangement with creditors or any like situation arising from a procedure of the same kind, or are subject to a procedure of the same kind;
  • have received a judgement with res judicata force, finding an offence that affects their professional integrity or constitutes a serious professional misconduct;
  • do not comply with their obligations as regards payment of social security contributions, taxes and dues, according to the statutory provisions of the country where they are established;
  • are an entity created to circumvent tax, social or other legal obligations (empty shell company), have ever created or are in the process of creation of such an entity.

For more information, visit CoE.