List of issues and questions in relation to the seventh periodic report of Lithuania *

Data collection

1.Please provide updated information and statistics, disaggregated by sex, age, nationality, disability status, ethnicity, geographical location and socioeconomic background, on the current situation of women and girls in the State Party, to enable monitoring of the implementation of the Convention. Please indicate measures taken to improve the collection and analysis of data pertaining to the areas covered by the Convention, with a view to supporting policymaking and programme development and measuring progress towards the implementation of the Convention and the promotion of substantive equality between women and men, including with regard to the specific areas covered in the present document, and through an intersectional lens.

Visibility of the Convention, the Optional Protocol thereto and the Committee’s general recommendations

2.Please provide updated information on steps taken:

(a)To improve the technical capabilities of the State Party to systematically identify cases and decisions in which the judiciary invoked the Convention, as well as policies to ensure that the Committee’s general recommendations are made an integral part of the legal education and training of law enforcement officials, judges, lawyers and prosecutors (para. 6);

(b)To put into effect of the action plan for the period 2021–2023 on the implementation of the Committee’s concluding observations on the sixth periodic report of Lithuania, including specific actions carried out in that context, indicators to measure progress and any potential plans to extend this mechanism for future reviews by the Committee (para. 8).

Women’s rights and gender equality in relation to the coronavirus disease pandemic, recovery efforts and global crises

3.Please describe the efforts made and mechanisms put in place to respond to the long-term impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), focusing on the disproportionate effects experienced by disadvantaged and marginalized groups, such as Roma women and asylum-seeking and refugee women and girls from Ukraine and Belarus. Please also provide information on measures taken to ensure the equal and meaningful participation of women and girls in the processes to respond to COVID‑19 and to prepare for potential future crises, with a view to ensuring that such crises do not lead to a reversal of progress made in the protection and promotion of women’s and girls’ rights.

Women and peace and security

4.In the light of general recommendation No. 30 (2013) on women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations, please provide information on the measures taken to achieve the objectives outlined in the second national action plan for the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) and subsequent resolutions, which covered the period 2020–2024, including details on the budget allocated and engagement with civil society for its effective implementation and the evaluation of the plan, including its impact, as well as steps taken to adopt a third such plan to cover the period beyond 2024 (para. 97).

Legislative framework and definition of discrimination against women

5.Please provide information on:

(a)Foreseen amendments to the law on equal opportunities for women and men and the law on equal opportunities and other measures taken to protect women from direct, indirect and intersecting forms of discrimination in the public and private spheres, in accordance with articles 1 and 2 of the Convention (paras. 19–22);

(b)Progress made in the ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence and in the conduct of awareness-raising campaigns to educate society on the importance of the Convention.

Access to justice

6.Please provide information on the implementation of the law on State-guaranteed legal aid and the State-guaranteed legal aid service and on how the State Party guarantees access to legal aid and public defence for Roma women and girls, and migrant, asylum-seeking and refugee women and girls. Please elaborate on measures taken to ensure that women who cannot afford private legal representation have comprehensive legal aid in divorce and separation cases. Please also elaborate on how these services are inclusive and accessible for women and girls with all kinds of disabilities (paras. 29–32).

National machinery for the advancement of women

7.Please provide updated information on:

(a)The action plan for the implementation of equal opportunities for the period 2024–2026, the action plan for equal opportunities for women and men for the period 2023–2025, the action plan for the prevention of domestic violence and assistance to victims for the period 2022–2023 and the action plan for the promotion of non-discrimination for the period 2021–2023, including information on key actions carried out, monitoring mechanisms in place and indicators for the measurement of progress (paras. 23–25);

(b)How the law on strategic governance and related legislation embody, de jure and de facto, the principle of equality between women and men and the horizontal principle of equal opportunities for all, and the ways in which a gender perspective is mainstreamed in both national and regional governance (para. 40);

(c)The findings of the State Party’s analysis of gender-responsive budgeting and how the State Party is planning to put such budgeting into practice (para. 45);

(d)Measures taken to ensure that the Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson has the funding required to carry out its mandate and the authority to protect women’s and girls’ rights and to ensure adequate funding for women’s rights organizations.

National human rights institution

8.Please provide information on the efforts undertaken to strengthen the mandate of the Seimas Ombudsperson’s Office, including in relation to the protection and promotion of women’s human rights. Please also provide details on the implementation of the recommendations made by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions with regard to the Office in 2024, in particular on adequate funding, procedures for selection, appointment and dismissal, and the role of the Office in encouraging the ratification of human rights instruments, including the Convention, and monitoring their effective implementation.

Temporary special measures

9.Please provide information on progress made towards the removal of legislative and other obstacles to the adoption and implementation of temporary special measures, such as parity quotas, preferential recruitment of women and zipper systems. Please also provide information on efforts to raise awareness among parliamentarians, government officials, employers and the general public about the necessity, non-discriminatory nature and temporary character of such measures and on plans for their short-term implementation.

Gender stereotypes

10.Please provide information on efforts, including awareness-raising initiatives and educational and media campaigns, to address gender stereotypes and intersecting forms of discrimination against women based on age, disability status, migrant status or other grounds. Please also provide information on measures taken to analyse and address gender-based stereotypes as root causes of: (a) gender-based violence against women; (b) the gender pay gap; (c) traditional gender roles in the family; (d) the overrepresentation of women in care-related activities; and (e) the fostering of stereotypical notions of masculinity and femininity in the media, including on social media.

Gender-based violence against women

11.Please provide information on:

(a)The number of complaints, investigations, prosecutions, convictions and sentences imposed, over the past four years, in cases of gender-based violence against women, with data disaggregated by nationality, the age of the victim, the type of violence and the relationship between the victim and the perpetrator;

(b)Progress made towards establishing a stand-alone civil protection order procedure for victims of domestic violence and additional measures implemented to meet the protection needs of survivors, including with regard to supervision and restriction, the availability of electronic bracelets and procedures for addressing non-compliance with protection orders;

(c)The status of approval and implementation of the action plan for the prevention of domestic violence and assistance to victims (paras. 26 and 52);

(d)Measures and indicators relating to the responsiveness and effectiveness of capacity-building for members of the judiciary, prosecutors and the police for handling cases of gender-based violence, including sexual violence and domestic violence, and information on whether gender-sensitive training for the judiciary, prosecutors and the police is mandatory;

(e)How the accreditation of specialized comprehensive assistance centres helps to mainstream a gender perspective, addresses the needs of women and girls who are survivors of gender-based violence and ensures, through funding and the services of skilled professionals who are experts on gender-based violence, that survivors have access, throughout the territory of the State Party, to shelters and specialized and professional support services, including free legal assistance, interpretation services, medical treatment, psychosocial counselling, financial support, education, skills training and income-generating opportunities;

(f)Measures taken to prevent gender-based violence in immigration centres, encourage women who are victims of gender-based violence with no citizenship status to report such violence and provide access to protection measures when needed.

Trafficking in women and girls and exploitation of prostitution

12.In the light of the Committee’s general recommendation No. 38 (2020) on trafficking in women and girls in the context of global migration, please provide updated information on:

(a)Measures taken to ensure adequate screening of asylum-seeking and migrant women who are at risk of trafficking, mechanisms for the early identification and referral of trafficking victims to the appropriate services, including legal aid and rehabilitation programmes, safeguards to prevent the deportation of victims for administrative offences or offences that are directly related to their trafficking experience and steps taken to ensure their access to international protection and temporary residence permits;

(b)The decriminalization of women in prostitution, including data, disaggregated by nationality, age and length of imprisonment, on women imprisoned for charges related to trafficking and/or prostitution, and exit programmes available to women who wish to leave prostitution;

(c)Measures taken to ensure that women from the State Party are not trafficked abroad and address the root causes of trafficking.

Participation in political and public life

13.In the light of general recommendation No. 40 (2024) on the equal and inclusive representation of women in decision-making systems, please provide updated information on the representation of women at decision-making levels in all branches of government, including at the national and municipal levels, and in State-owned enterprises. Please also provide information on measures taken to ensure the representation of women, including women from disadvantaged and marginalized groups, in particular Roma women, in political and public life.

Education

14.Please provide updated information on:

(a)The implementation of Government resolution No. 847 of 24 August 2022 on the approval of the description of the procedure for providing vocational guidance and measures taken to encourage women and girls to choose non-traditional fields of education and career paths, including those relating to science, technology, engineering, mathematics and information and communications technology (paras. 99 and 100);

(b)Progress made towards implementing the amendments to the law on education that were adopted in September 2024, with a view to providing inclusive education for women and girls with disabilities (paras. 101 and 102) and ensuring that women and girls with disabilities, including psychosocial disabilities, have full access to schools, and on the number of women and girls with disabilities enrolled in educational institutions as a result of those amendments;

(c)Enrolment and dropout rates among Roma, refugee, asylum-seeking and migrant girls at the primary and secondary levels of education and their enrolment in higher education, with data disaggregated by relevant factors;

(d)Programmes and funding for awareness-raising on gender equality, gender-based violence and stereotypes, as well as on their results and the indicators used to measure progress.

Employment

15.Please provide updated information on:

(a)Measures taken to address horizontal and vertical occupational gender segregation and enhance the representation of women in management positions and their access to the labour market in both urban and rural areas, including through the creation of increased labour opportunities for women in disadvantaged and marginalized situations, especially women with disabilities. Please also provide information on the implementation and results of the action plan for Roma integration into Lithuanian society for the period 2015–2020, whether it has been extended and other measures taken to fully integrate Roma women into the labour market;

(b)The current status of the gender pay gap in the State Party and measures taken to address its root causes, such as poverty, women's unpaid work, the lack of access to employment for women facing intersecting forms of discrimination, including rural women, single mothers and women with disabilities, and other gender-related issues;

(c)The implementation of legislation regarding access to pensions, including data on pension coverage for women, disaggregated by age, occupation and pension amount, and whether the State Party is considering the gender impact of changes that are scheduled to take effect in 2026 with regard to the establishment of an equal retirement age for women and men;

(d)The availability of early childhood education programmes for children, in particular for those aged 0 to 2 years, and data on access to such programmes, disaggregated by the number of facilities, staffing, funding and the number of children registered;

(e)Measures taken to address the unequal sharing of family and domestic responsibilities between women and men, including the disproportionate burden of unpaid care work shouldered by women.

Health

16.Please provide updated information and disaggregated data on access to public healthcare services for migrant women, asylum-seeking women and Roma women and girls, in the light of Order No. V-363 of 24 March 2023 of the Ministry of Health. Please also provide information on the performance and outcomes of the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund early diagnosis programmes for cervical cancer, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer and cardiovascular and other noncommunicable diseases, including data on women’s access to these services, disaggregated by ethnicity, location and disability and legal status.

17.Please provide information on:

(a)The implementation of Order No. 50 of 28 January 1994 of the Ministry of Health on the procedure for carrying out termination of pregnancy surgery, including details on available facilities and the qualified medical staff providing these services, as well as comprehensive data on women and girls accessing these services, disaggregated by age, nationality, disability status and other relevant indicators, such as cases where abortions have been authorized for girls under the age of 18 years and procedures to perform abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy;

(b)Regulations governing the authorization of abortion for minors and for obtaining approval from guardians in such cases;

(c)The implementation and results of measures taken to comprehensively prevent unintended pregnancies, including education on sexual and reproductive health and the facilitation of access to contraceptives;

(d)The implementation of Order No. 55/42/16 of 28 January 2002 of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of the Interior and the Prosecutor General, on the provision of information about persons with bodily injuries that may be related to a crime, elaborating specifically on the procedure implemented to obtain the patient’s consent in cases of sexual violence and indicating in how many cases it has been applied;

(e)Any plans to repeal the requirement for authorization by the legal guardian for an abortion to be performed on a girl under the age of 18 years;

(f)Measures to prevent obstetric violence against women and girls.

Ukrainian and other refugee and asylum-seeking women and girls

18.In the light of the influx of Ukrainian nationals and increased border crossings from Belarus and with regard to women and girls seeking international protection, please provide updated information on:

(a)The number of foreign women and girls, including from Ukraine and Belarus, who have obtained international and/or temporary protection, including in cases of gender-based persecution, with data disaggregated by age, nationality and disability status;

(b)Existing policies ensuring access to comprehensive legal aid, housing, health services and education for women and girls in need of international and/or temporary protection;

(c)Measures taken to implement the principle of non-refoulement, ensure access to refugee status determination procedures at crossing points and prevent pushbacks, including information on the legal framework for addressing irregular arrivals and exemptions from non-admission measures;

(d)The outcomes of the “Rape is a war crime” campaign, including the number of reports received, disaggregated by sex and age, and their use in pursuing justice for survivors, as well as on women and girls who have received medical, legal or psychological assistance as part of this campaign;

(e)The number of women and girls in refugee centres, including the legal basis for and duration of their detention and the location of the relevant detention facilities;

(f)Domestic procedures for identifying and determining statelessness, measures taken to prevent statelessness among women and girls and provisions for granting citizenship, as well as on the current number of stateless women and girls in the State Party’s territory;

(g)The status of the emergency (extraordinary situation) declared on 2 July 2021 and, if still in force, the number of women and girls denied international and/or temporary protection under emergency provisions;

(h)Attempts to ease the bureaucratic burden involved in family reunification procedures;

(i)The rationale behind and interpretation of the law on the State border and the guard thereof, which stipulates that foreigners who cross the Sate border irregularly and are present in the border zone are deemed not to be on the State Party’s territory, and the number of such cases recorded since 2022, disaggregated by sex, age and country of origin.

Women and girls with disabilities

19.Please provide updated information on:

(a)The number of women and girls with disabilities who are under guardianship, legislative and policy measures taken to fully abolish guardianship systems, both in law and practice, and procedures established to review existing guardianship cases and restore full legal capacity to women and girls with disabilities;

(b)The legal and institutional framework implemented to ensure supported decision-making for women and girls with disabilities;

(c)Measures taken to prohibit and prevent involuntary medical treatment, including forced sterilizations and abortions, of women and girls with disabilities and steps taken to ensure that women and girls with disabilities can make free and informed decisions regarding their sexuality and sexual and reproductive health, without coercion, discrimination or gender-based violence.

Women facing intersecting forms of discrimination

20.Please provide information on:

(a)Measures taken to ensure accessible and high-quality medical, social and nursing services for older women, in particular with regard to their specific health needs and circumstances, reduce the poverty rate among older women and compensate family members who provide care for older persons;

(b)Concrete actions taken to provide access to healthcare services for women in rural areas, including the provision of information on the availability and accessibility of facilities, specialized care and emergency services;

(c)Specific measures implemented to ensure that Roma women and girls have equal access to healthcare services, including efforts to address any discriminatory practices or barriers they may face in seeking medical care, and programmes designed to improve their health outcomes and well-being;

(d)Concrete measures taken to prevent discrimination against lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex women, including lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex asylum-seekers, the legal and institutional framework regulating gender recognition procedures, such as requirements for legal changes of gender, and whether the State Party has explicitly prohibited “conversion therapy” practices through legislation or other regulatory measures; as well as on any sanctions or enforcement mechanisms in place to address violations of the rights of lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex women and girls;

(e)The implementation of the ruling handed down in December 2024 by the Constitutional Court of Lithuania declaring unconstitutional article 4 (2) (16) of the law on the protection of minors against the detrimental effects of public information;

(f)Measures implemented to integrate an intersectional perspective in all gender mainstreaming policies.

Marriage and family relations

21.Please provide information on:

(a)The findings of the ex-post evaluation of the legal regulation of mandatory mediation in family disputes, monitoring mechanisms and the application of restorative justice principles in criminal proceedings relating to domestic violence cases. Please also provide data on the number of cases in which victims have opted for voluntary mediation and the outcomes of such proceedings (paras. 69 and 70);

(b)Measures taken to comprehensively protect the rights of lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex women and girls, in particular regarding the legal recognition and registration of all marriages and unions, whether contracted domestically or abroad, the rights of transgender women unconditioned by divorce and the protection of family life and parenthood.

Climate change and disaster risk reduction

22.Please provide information on steps taken to integrate a gender perspective into the national energy and climate action plan for the period 2021–2030 and other climate change policies, in accordance with the Committee’s general recommendation No. 37 (2018) on the gender-related dimensions of disaster risk reduction in the context of climate change. In particular, please provide details on measures implemented to ensure the representation and effective participation of women in decision-making processes relating to climate change adaptation, mitigation strategies, disaster risk reduction and the management of land and environmental resources. In addition, please outline specific mechanisms established to ensure that climate policies address the disproportionate impacts of climate change on women, especially those facing intersecting forms of discrimination, and describe how gender-responsive budgeting is incorporated into climate action planning and implementation. Please also provide information on steps taken to collect gender-disaggregated data on climate change impacts and ensure that women’s specific needs and perspectives are considered in environmental impact assessments and climate resilience programmes.