"If not such meetings, I would not have information about the self-government programs, it seems that many things were taken into account and, I am sure, not many people, like me have information about it".
"I not only got information, but also passed a little training on how to use the online space to get interesting information".
This is the feedback from meeting participants. Meetings were held with beneficiaries living in Terjola, Samtredia, Bagdati and Vani municipalities. They learned how to use the Internet properly, how to find the necessary material or document. Detailed information was also spread about the website of the Women Fund "Sukhumi" "Digital Resource Center of the Services for Victims of Violence".
The project is implemented with the support the Equality Fund (Canada)
"The importance of inter-agency cooperation and coordination on the issues of domestic violence/violence against women at the local level" was the topic of the training held in Borjomi.
The training was attended by the representatives of local self-government from 15 municipalities of Western Georgia (Kutaisi, Tskaltubo, Khoni, Samtredia, Terjola, Bagdati, Tkibuli, Senaki, Zugdidi, Poti, Tsalenjikha, Lanchkhuti, Chokhatauri, Ozurgeti, Kobuleti).
On the first day, together with getting acquainted with each other, many things were interesting and important:
- Presentations of the research conducted by the Women Fund "Sukhumi" on: ”The importance of correction of the rapist’s behavior at an early stage” and the rapid assessment of the needs of the Mayor's representatives in 10 municipalities of western Georgia;
- Information about the website “Digital Resource Center of the Services for Victims of Violence” - http://sosfsokhumi.ge;
- Presentations and discussion of programs implemented by municipalities against violence towards the women.
Gender-based violence takes on many forms during conflicts, as we are witnessing in Ukraine. Rape and sexual violence are used as tools of war, and women and girls face higher risks of trafficking, as well as domestic violence and exploitation. Women’s specialist support services (WSSS) play a vital role in supporting survivors of violence, both during the conflict, as well as in the medium and long-term in post-conflict areas.
WAVE, with the support of the OSCE, started a new project to address capacity building and exchange of promising practices between women’s specialist support services to better support women survivors of violence in conflict and post-conflict areas. The WAVE members involved in the project are the Sexual Assault Crisis Center (Yerevan, Armenia), Women Fund Sukhumi (Kutaisi, Georgia), Foundation United Women Banja Luka (Banja Luka, Bosnia & Herzegovina), and Centre “Women’s Perspectives” (Lviv, Ukraine).
“Such a meeting is important for me. There was a detailed explanation on how to enter a web page, how to find and download the necessary information.”
"It's hard to be a single mother and allocate time to educate yourself. These meetings are useful because they explain how to use the web page."
"So much information in one space is a comfort... I'm already thinking whom to consult, whom to help."
This is the feedback from the participants of the online meetings held in April. Meetings were held with women from the municipalities of Kobuleti, Chokhatauri, Senaki and Tkibuli. They received detailed information about the website of the Women Fund "Sukhumi" - "Digital Resource Center of Services for Victims of Violence" - www.sosfsokhumi.ge - why it was created, what materials are posted, how to use, how it will help vulnerable groups.
The project is implemented with the support the Equality Fund (Canada)
The last training from the cycle of trainings organized by the Women Fund "Sukhumi" was held In the Zoom format - this time for the heads of administrative units and specialists from the services of the municipalities of Tkibuli, Kobuleti, Chokhatauri and Tsalenjikha.
The training covered the following issues: the role of local governments in achieving gender equality, prevention and response to domestic violence; forms of civic participation, mechanisms of protection from violence, cooperation with the referral entities in identifying cases of violence and assistance to the victim.
The training participants were introduced to the innovative platform - the web page "Digital Resource Center for Victims of Violence" created by the Women Fund "Sukhumi". The web page gives information to the victim of violence and the person who is interested in her assistance about existing services, protection mechanisms and other relevant topics.
"Today I saw my responsibilities in a different prism; I realized that a lot depends on me in terms of having an active population in the community".
"I have heard topics that I have heard about, but it turns out I did not know them."
"Representatives of the Mayor are the implementers of our policies in their community, so it is important for us to help them to improve their skills"...
These are the evaluations of the participants. The online training was attended by 82 people from Bagdati, Vani and Terjola municipalities: representatives of the Mayor in the village (55 participants) and their assistants. They were provided with information on a variety of issues, including:
Representative of the Mayor in the village - this is quite a serious and important position. People on this position can play a serious role in the prevention of violence. Therefore, the Women Fund "Sukhumi" started a cycle of trainings with them. 77 representatives of Zugdidi, Samtredia and Senaki municipalities attended the first training.
The training discussed the role of local governments in gender equality, prevention and response to domestic violence. The attention was paid to the forms of civil participation, mechanisms for protection from violence, cooperation with the entities of the referral mechanism...
The Women Fund "Sukhumi" has been actively holding meetings in the municipalities in a round table format for years, with the involvement of referral entities provided by the Law on Violence, in order to facilitate the introduction of a coordination system between agencies at the local level.
The meetings highlighted the need to establish an interagency commission on the local level. Active work has started in the target municipalities to implement this initiative. Three working meetings were held with the representatives of Bagdati, Senaki and Chokhatauri municipalities. The meetings were attended by the Deputy Mayors, the heads of the legal, youth, social and health departments of the City Hall, the coordinators of the children's department, the persons responsible for gender.
"Access to Women / Domestic Violence Victims Assistance Services at the Local Level" - a conference on this topic was held with the involvement of teachers, NGOs, and service providers.
About 80 invited participants from fifteen municipalities heard about the importance of a project funded by the Canada Gender Equality Fund that aims to empower victims of violence, raise e-literacy and impact on public awareness.
The rehabilitation center of the Women Fund "Sukhumi" deserved high evaluation from the audience, which has already hosted dozens of beneficiaries and positively changed their future.
