Private company supports women survivors of domestic violence
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UN Women and the company PMO Business Consulting have joined forces in a joint initiative for women who have left an abusive partner to start a new life, free from violence. The initiative is planned in partnership with the State Fund for Protection and Assistance of Victims of Human Trafficking and Domestic Violence and the NGO Amagdari and implies providing vocational training for women who have survived domestic violence and now receive protection and support in the state shelters.
The first training was held on June 29 on the topic of basic service and sales skills, and it was delivered by Salome Makaridze, trainer and partner of PMO Business Consulting. Ten beneficiaries, staying in the shelters in Tbilisi, Gori and Kakheti, attended the training which marks the start of a new, innovative approach to socio-economic rehabilitation of survivors of violence through collaboration of the private, public and civil society spheres as well as UN Women.
“In the framework of our corporate social responsibility, we decided to focus on the women who are breaking free from an abusive partner. With our company resources we can share knowledge and experience that the women can usefortheir future employment. This - the usefulness and demand of the skills - was the criteria used for elaborating training topics. Businesses can really play a significant role in supporting victims of domestic violence and women who managed to escape from this problem”, - said Salome Makaridze.
Participants of the training go to familiarize themselves with the generally recognized standards and basic skills in the area of service and sales. They learned the key principles of customer relations, how to make offers effectively, build contact with customers and issues that they need to know in order to find employment at the companies specialized in service and sales.
The training was interactive and participants were engaged actively: “Education and skills are very important for us. Today I found myself in an absolutely different environment, which has equipped me with quite interesting knowledge. The impressions will stay with me for a long time. I would gladly attend trainings on other topics as well”, - said one of the participants, who has never attended any training before.
The participants were awarded with certificates of service and sales skills after the completion of training. “The training showed me how important it is to be self-confident, which is something that knowledge gives you. The trainersused simple and understandable language and interactive methods to introduce us to the field of service and sales. Now I am doing my internship at one of the companies in this area and indeed, the obtained knowledge will help me a lot to adapt to the workplace and specificities of job”, - one of the training participants related.
Economic independence of women who have experienced violence and managed to get protection and support from a shelter is crucial. Without an income, it is difficult to start over and the risk is greater that she will be forced to go back to the perpetrator. But unemployment ratesare high in Georgia, and it is still a challenge to ensure economic independence and employment for survivors of violence against women. In addition the beneficiaries of the state shelters often lack the education and professional skills that match the labor market requirements. In its special report of 2015 “Violence against Women and Domestic Violence in Georgia”, the Public Defender points out that 67% of beneficiaries, who were surveyed during the shelter monitoring, needed additional education, but half of them thinks that such services were not available to them and 75% of respondents did not receive assistance in finding employment. This highlights the importance of the initiative of UN Women and the company PMO Business Consulting, and the need for similar initiatives.
Trainings will be held regularly, once a month. The next training will take place on July 20, again on basic skills in the areas of service and sales, this time in collaboration with the UN Women partner NGO Amagdari which provides employment and training support to survivors. In the future the topics will be expanded and include leadership and small entrepreneurship.
The main directions of PMO Business Consulting are organizational development, business analytics and financial counseling. As a second stage of the initiative, in partnership with UN Women, representatives of PMO Business Consulting are inviting human resources development managers of their client companies to raise awareness on the needs of women who are survivors of violence and discuss internship and other opportunities for beneficiaries.