A project supported by the Equality Fund (Canada) continues.
The main goal of the project is to provide access for women victims/potential victims of violence and other stakeholders to a wide range of information related to domestic violence (legal mechanisms for domestic violence/ violence against women, victim support services, referral entities, etc.) for the prevention and appropriate response to violence against women.
The project will be implemented during 3 years in 10 municipalities of Western Georgia (Vani, Bagdati, Samtredia, Terjola, Tkibuli, Tsalenjikha, Senaki, Zugdidi, Kobuleti, Chokhatauri).
Within the framework of the project, the website “Digital Resource Center for the Services of Violence Victims” will continue to function https://sosfsokhumi.ge/
Systematic assessment of the risks of domestic violence and violence against women will be carried out in the above mentioned municipalities.
Since the initiation of the Russian draft law, we have launched a social campaign "No Russian law". Representatives of various fields of society and our female leaders actively participated in the campaign as volunteers.
All the Georgian people were united in the aforementioned contradictory process, which called up this draft law.
Our organization has been cooperating with Khobi municipality for many years. Work will be renewed again. That was the reason of conducting this meeting.
Tea Goletiani and Khatuna Gogua, representatives of the Fund "Sukhumi", met with the Chairperson of Khobi City Council Levan Kavtaradze, Deputy Mayor David Beraya, City Council and City Hall specialists on the issues of gender equality.
The aim of the information meeting was cooperation between the municipality and the Women Fund in terms of strengthening women's rights and promoting gender equality.
The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot
für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)
The Women Fund "Sukhumi" organized the action of women's solidarity in Kutaisi in front of Lado Meskhishvili State Academic Theater - thus the organization joined the march of the women's movement in Georgia "Women against total control!".
The action was attended by women activists of the organization, beneficiaries from four regions of Western Georgia, local civil society organizations and ordinary citizens.
The participants of the action demonstrated a common position regarding the Euro-Atlantic future of Georgia, which is declared in the Constitution of Georgia.
The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot
für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)
One difficult year has passed since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. The Women Fund “Sukhumi” once again expresses solidarity with Ukrainian women and their families!
During a year, we helped and continue to help Ukraine, refugees from this country:
In first days of war we collected 10000 GEL and sent parcels.
On March 8, we held an action of solidarity in Kutaisi and other municipalities.
We prepared video clips.
We have helped the women from the occupied city of Melitopol. We sent them 55800 UAH (hryvnia) and there, women volunteers bought food and medicines for the citizens.
In April, when the first refugees from Ukraine appeared in Georgia, we have created a support group and started helping them.
We have distributed packages with the necessary products and hygiene items to 465 beneficiaries (226 women, 170 children and 69 men). 23 families received assistance in payment for accommodation, 11 families received payment for utilities. We help in paying for the cost of surgery, medical procedures, in the purchase of medicines.
On February 22, the Women Fund „Sukhumi“ participated in the preparatory consultation for the forthcoming 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in 2023 which focuses on “Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls”.
The consultation with all stakeholders, including Women CSO, international organizations and International NGOs was organized by the Government of Ukraine together with the UN Women. During the consultation the gendered implications of war on women and girls both inside and outside of Ukraine, as well as their role in leading and driving change was highlighted.
During the panel discussions different topics were explored, namely how technology and digital solutions are playing an integral role in addressing the socio-economic needs of war-effected women across the region, and how technologies and digital economy could efficiently facilitate gender responsive recovery and development and reduce existing gender digital gaps.
We, the people of Georgia, strongly oppose the bill initiated by the members of the Parliamentary The majority, is also endorsed by the Speaker of Parliament and other MPs. We declare that the attempts to adopt this Russian bill attack not only the independent civil society organizations and the critical media, but the people of Georgia themselves.
This bill aims to leave defenseless the abused children and women; people with disabilities, minorities, scientists, workers, and the youth; to not provide assistance to socially vulnerable families, farmers, miners, internally displaced, homeless, illegally laid off, detained, and other people fighting for their rights; to mute the voice of the people living in the peripheries of the country that can only communicate their troubles through the independent media.
Council of Europe Office in Georgia and the Governmental Administration hosted on 13 February a conference to present the recommendations provided to Georgia by GREVIO, the independent expert body which monitors the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention), as well as by the Committee of the Parties to the Istanbul Convention. At the event, representatives of non-governmental organisations and academia together with the State agencies and Maria-Andriani Kostopoulou, GREVIO member and second vice-president of GREVIO, discussed the steps to take to implement the 16 recommendations approved by the Committee of the Parties to the Convention in December 2022. The recommendations are the most pressing as indicated in the first GREVIO baseline report on Georgia published in November 2022. Georgia is to submit a report on the implementation of the recommendations to the Committee of the Parties by the end of 2025.
In order to implement the National Human Rights Strategy for the years of 2022-2030, the Government of Georgia started working on the development of the new National Human Rights Action Plan. Members of the state agencies listed under the Government Decree N143 of March 2, 2022, representatives of international/donor organizations, as well as respresentatives of more than 80 NGOs attended the meeting, among Women Fund “Sukhumi”.
At the end of the meeting, the importance of the involvement of international and local non-governmental organizations in the drafting process of the National Human Rights Action Plan was once again underlined and the timeframe for their feedback on the first draft of the action plan was discussed. However, during the discussion, the representatives of local non-governmental organizations drew attention to the main challenge of cooperation on the part of state agencies, which implies not taking into account the recommendations offered by civil societies in the state policy. Of course, it makes each of us lose the motivation to work together.
