Across the region, women continue to face discrimination and violation of their basic human rights. These violations take a variety of forms, including unequal access to employment, domestic violence, trafficking, unequal access to healthcare, and under-representation in decision-making bodies. Women from minority communities suffer multiple discrimination as they frequently experience high incidences of poverty, alongside gender and ethnic discrimination.

UNIFEM works towards the promotion of discrimination and violence-free societies across all programmes. UNIFEM, in partnership with the Open Society Institute's Network Women's Program, supported the development of “Stop Violence Against Women website (STOPVAW)” by Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights. The website is a forum for information, advocacy and change, serving as a tool for the promotion of women's human rights in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). STOPVAW provides women's rights advocates with information and advocacy tools focused on ending the most endemic forms of violence against women in the region, including domestic violence and trafficking in women.

Additional UNIFEM work to prevent and combat Violence Against Women in CEE include: