We present our new video, highlighting the Women’s Fund "Sokhumi" work to strengthen women's roles and engagement and address domestic violence issues. For over 20 years, we have been actively working in ten municipalities of western Georgia: Kutaisi, Tskaltubo, Khoni, Terjola, Samtredia, Chokhatauri, Zugdidi, Senaki, Tsalenjikha, and Khobi.
Within the framework of the general network of IDP women and girls of the Women Fund "Sukhumi" - "Network of Women and Girls Peace Ambassadors" the initiatives envisaged by the project were implemented in five municipalities: Senaki, Tskaltubo, Khoni, Zugdidi and Kutaisi.
The process was actively participated by leaders of women groups, activists and community residents. The initiatives were implemented with the involvement of human resources of the local community.
The project is implemented with the support
of the UN Women organization
The Women Fund “Sukhumi” successfully completed 2024. At the end of the year, the staff of the organization gathered for a reporting meeting.
The Chairperson of the Women Fund “Sukhumi”, Alla Gamakharia, gave a brief overview of the work and achievements. Project assistants spoke about individual projects, areas, results, and success stories. The implementation of majority of the projects will continue in 2025. The project teams are ready to actively continue working in the next year.
The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot
für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)
The Women Fund "Sukhumi" monitoring brief, based on data collected from research conducted between May and October 2024, reviews the role and effectiveness of social workers in the prevention of and response to violence against women. The report highlights the challenges impacting the efficiency of social workers, including coordination difficulties with referral entities such as schools, kindergartens, medical institutions, and local self-government bodies, which hinder the timely identification of women at risk of violence and limit their access to necessary services.
Particular attention is given to the diverse responsibilities and functions of social workers, often leading to professional overload. The brief examines structural challenges, such as limited financial resources, insufficient staffing, and the lack of transportation, which severely affect the effectiveness of their work, particularly in the regions.
The monitoring also identifies successful practices, including the high level of trust between beneficiaries and social workers, close collaboration with municipal child rights protection departments, and effective cooperation with non-governmental organizations. The report draws on the experiences of social workers from the Imereti and Samegrelo regions (Kutaisi, Khoni, Baghdati, Samtredia, Zugdidi, Tsalenjikha municipalities), and provides recommendations aimed at strengthening social services, improving coordination, and enhancing overall effectiveness.
Introducing the latest brief report by the Women Fund "Sukhumi", which assesses the effectiveness of shelters and crisis centers while identifying critical gaps and challenges. The report highlights issues such as limited geographical accessibility, insufficient psychological and multilingual support services, and the absence of childcare options for young children—factors that hinder women survivors of domestic violence from fully utilizing these facilities. It also notes that the 2023 legislative amendments, which removed the "victim status" requirement for accessing services, have yet to be implemented in municipal programs, further limiting access to local support services.
The report emphasizes the need for effective monitoring and follow-up support mechanisms to facilitate the reintegration and independent living of women survivors after leaving shelters. It advocates for strengthening shelters systemically and developing sustainable, effective rehabilitation models to provide comprehensive assistance and safeguard the rights of women affected by violence.
Gogolesubani is a small village in Chokhatauri municipality. At the request of local women, our organization organized sewing courses and invited Nana Gogoladze, who lives in the same village, as a teacher. The women completed the two-month basic course with great enthusiasm. All of them are happy with the knowledge they received and are asking for more courses.
At the last lesson, an exhibition of works was organized and they were awarded certificates.
The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot
für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)
The Forum Theatre dedicated its December performances to the international campaign "16 active days against gender-based violence". The performances were held in Kutaisi Youth Center and in the open air.
Due to the general situation, trips to municipalities and schools are limited, so the last performances of the year were held only for Kutaisi audience.
The actors hope that the situation will change for the better from the New Year and the area of their performances will become more diverse.
The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot
für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)
Members of women's and youth groups of the villages Didinedzi and Koki - Zugdidi municipality join the international campaign 16 active Days against Violence. Within the framework of the international campaign, information meetings and workshops were held, with the discussion of the importance of raising women's awareness in terms of assisting victims of violence, the need to implement preventive measures, and access to state services. Many countries, including Georgia, are involved in the 16-day international campaign, which indicates that the issue is still relevant and the main mechanism for combating it is the unification of society against the problem.
Members of women's and youth groups from Kutaisi and Khoni actively joined the campaign of 16 Active Days against Gender-Based Violence. They expressed their attitude through various activities and once again unanimously said "No" to violence!
