The Women's Fund 'Sukhumi' organized practical training for representatives of women's civil society organizations in Western Georgia. The training, led by Ekaterine Gamakharia, Head of the Tbilisi office of the Women's Fund 'Sukhumi,' focused on the theme 'Prevention and Response to Gender-Based Violence in War and Post-War Settings.
During the training, participants acquired knowledge about common forms of gender-based violence in times of war and conflict. The session also involved discussions on the direct and indirect impacts of armed or violent conflicts on women, girls, and other vulnerable groups. Throughout the training, participants actively shared their personal experiences during the post-war period and engaged in discussions about strategies crucial for the effective protection of women from violence.
The training was organized by the WAVE network, including the 'Crisis Center for Victims of Sexual Violence' in Yerevan, Armenia; the Women's Fund “Sukhumi” in Kutaisi and Tbilisi, Georgia; and the 'United Women's Foundation Banja Luka' in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina. They utilized a training module based on the 2022 toolkit “Preventing and responding to gender-based violence in war and post-war settings: experiences and recommendations of women's NGOs.”
The guide is available at the following link: https://wave-network.org/toolkit-prevention-response-gbv-war/?fbclid=IwAR03LQ8QeKi3hM6de-O3nugIL8RdShWbYQ76tAA48o2YRefI4PY65ZVwwxg
At the traditional December meeting of Khoni Youth Club, the members discussed the activities carried out within the framework of 16-day campaign against gender-based violence and planned future activities. The head of Kutaisi violence victim service of the State Care and Assistance Agency for Victims of Trafficking met the members of the first group of women in Khoni. Representatives of the City Hall and City Council and members of the Gender Council attended the meeting together with the women. Nino Khonelidze informed the audience about the existence of shelters and crisis centers for victims of violence, their functioning, and in general, the problems of violence victims. As for the second women initiative group of Khoni, they discussed the activities carried out within the framework of the 16-day campaign against violence and planned the activities to be implemented in the future.
UN Women and the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat), with the support of the European Union (EU), presented the most recent results of the National Study on Violence against Women at Radisson Blue Iveria Hotel.
The purpose of the event was to share information with key national partners and stakeholders regarding the study findings. The data and evidence generated from the study aimed to inform legislation and policymaking on ways to combat violence against women and domestic violence in Georgia.
Linda Chikhladze, our representative, attended the presentation.
The women initiative group of the village Koki - Zugdidi municipality summarized the activities carried out within the framework of the 16-day campaign against gender-based violence during December meeting. The meeting was attended by the coordinator of the department for the protection of children’s rights of Zugdidi City Hall and the representative of the social and health service. They presented information about local programs. As for the youth initiative group, they were trained on the topic of peace and peace negotiations. The participants participated in the training through role-playing games and talked about what is necessary for the successful conduct and conclusion of the peace negotiations.
Women Support Centers actively participated in the 16-day campaign against gender-based violence.
At the initiative of the mobilizers, active discussions were held on topical issues: gender stereotypes, gender-based violence, early marriages and their negative consequences, services for the assistance of violence victims, family conflicts and ways to prevent them...
Information leaflets and posters were distributed to all ten Women Support Centers. Activities were carried out with the involvement of local structures.
Film screenings, discussions, master classes, information meetings, debates in clubs, exhibitions of paintings, 34 events of various formats were held in frames of the campaign. The 16-day campaign covered more than 40 towns and villages and involved more than 300 people.
Women Support Centers once again reminded the public that domestic violence is a universal problem and that joint efforts and integrated approaches are cessary to solve this problem.
The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot
für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)
Map of the domestic violence risk indicator – this category is already used on our website https://sosfsokhumi.ge.
There are official statistics and data of the research of the Women Fund “Sukhumi”. In order to view the statistics of a particular region, you should select the corresponding unit on the map - Imereti, Samegrelo, Guria and Adjara.
According to the regions, anyone can find out statistics on complaints about domestic violence, reports received regarding cases of violence, as well as the level of employment or migration and statistics on families who receive a living wage.
Statistics can be viewed for individual municipalities of the region. Three municipalities are represented in Samegrelo: Senaki, Zugdidi and Tsalenjikha, in Imereti there are five: Kutaisi, Tskaltubo, Khoni, Samtredia and Bagdati, in Guria and Adjara data are recorded for one municipality: Chokhatauri and Kobuleti.
As we learned from feedback from Internet users, the risk map provides the necessary information to readers working on the problem, as well as to people who live in different municipalities.
The project is implemented with the support the Equality Fund (Canada)
The story summarizes the results of the work in the framework of the project “Women, Peace, Security, Promoting the Implementation of the 1325 UN Resolution Action Plan at the Local Level.”
The video record represents all five municipalities participating in the project - Kutaisi, Tskaltubo, Khoni, Senaki and Zugdidi. Women initiative groups operated in these municipalities. Women representing these groups talk about the benefits the project and networking have given them. They share with the audience their successes, what they have achieved, and how they have become leaders who can identify, advocate, and solve problems to improve conditions in their community.
The project is implemented with the support
of the UN Women organization
Final meeting within the framework of the project “Women and Youth - Implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda at the Local Level” was held In Kutaisi, hotel “Gelati Residence”.
The meeting was attended by women - leaders and activists from five target municipalities: Kutaisi, Khoni, Senaki, Tskaltubo, Zugdidi.
The participants once again assessed the dynamics of the project, summarized the achieved results, and spoke about the effectiveness of the network.
The challenges and issues that are still in the process of advocacy were highlighted.
Feedback from meeting participants:
“This was an important project for me, because it opened me the way to enter the public sphere, I got involved in various projects.”
“At the age of 23, I became convinced that women’s efforts are very important when working on issues that are important for society and especially for women.”
“I was a “leader standing in the corner,” and today I can freely appear in front of a large audience and boldly say that this project raised me”.
“The project showed us the power and impact of networking, which helped us to advocate everyday problems and improve our social profile.”
The project is implemented with the support
of the UN Women organization
The advocacy group held a meeting with the beneficiaries of the organization in the Youth Empowerment Center of Terjola Municipality, They were informed about the news planned in the budget of the municipality in 2024.
Particular emphasis was placed on the programs of the Department for the Protection of Children's Rights of the City Hall and those programs that are intended for victims of violence - this is single assistance and rent for the apartment. It was noted that it is very important that the public knows more about these programs so that this information can be used and local government can clearly see its feasibility.
Representative of the Gender Equality Council shared good news with the meeting participants - in 2024 the Council will have its own budget, which will include many targeted services that are important for women.
The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot
für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)
