Youth engaged in combating gender-based violence

UN Women, supported by the European Union, continues empowering the youth and raising their awareness on gender-based violence. To reach this goal, various initiatives will be implemented in Tbilisi and the regions of Kvemo Kartli and Samtskhe-Javakheti in collaboration with the Georgian Girl Scouts Association ‘Dia’. These activities aim at supporting the youth aged 12–25 to speak up and change the unhealthy attitudes towards gender stereotypes, as well as obtain knowledge and skills to tackle gender-based violence - sexual harassment, bulling, early or forced marriage, and domestic violence.

Within the framework of the project, 400 youth, comprising 300 girls and 100 boys, will attend educational programmes based on the curriculum “Voices Against Violence” in Tbilisi, Kvemo Kartli and Samtskhe-Javakheti. It is noteworthy that along with trainings, the programme also envisages that the participants conduct various activities to address violence against girls and women. It is already known that the youth involved in the project will join the campaign 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence: A hiking tour is planned in the outskirts of Tbilisi, during which the participants will share facts and data about gender equality and violence against women. They will start a live broadcast on social media channels regarding the respective topics and will try to reach out to a wider audience. Within the framework of the campaign, there will also be a movie screening and a discussion dedicated to gender-based violence.

It is notable that the Georgian Girl Scouts Association ‘Dia’ has already trained 18 senior leaders who will conduct sessions for young participants. “The training programme ‘Voices Against Violence’ has empowered me a lot as a leader and has also helped me discuss sensitive issues more easily, with more confidence and empathy,” says 20-year-old Mariam Kavshbaia, who is one of the scout leaders. Another leader, 20-year-old Konstantin Maminaishvili, adds: “Now I feel that I can drive changes in my community, whether by speaking up about problematic issues or organizing awareness-raising events.”

UN Women had already collaborated with the Georgian Girl Scouts Association ‘Dia’ through the EU-funded project “Ending Violence against Women and Girls in Georgia”. As a result of this partnership, the manual “Voices Against Violence” was translated into Georgian and adapted to the local context. Training sessions were conducted for 600 participants from Tbilisi and the regions of Kvemo Kartli and Guria. Prior to these sessions, about 40 leaders had received specialized training on topics of violence against women and domestic violence; they then led the training sessions themselves.

The activities are planned in the framework of the “EU 4 Gender Equality: Together against gender stereotypes and gender-based violence" programme (phase 2), funded by the European Union, implemented jointly by UN Women and UNFPA.