Refugee women from Ukraine learned about ”Gender-based violence core concepts”
On 5 December, the AIDRom team, in collaboration with VOICE and Hias, held a training session on “Gender-based violence core concepts”. This training session, organised at AIDRom’s headquarters in Bucharest, is part of the SAFE HUT project. It aimed at creating the “safe spaces for the empowerment of women and girls (WGSS)”.
In the first section, Mihaela Gheorghe, an expert on gender issues and vulnerable groups, facilitated a discussion in which the 21 participants explored the types of violence, ways of recognising them and the tools available for protection. Mihaela stressed the importance of confronting economic violence, a significant risk for vulnerable people and refugees, with a focus on women.
In the second part of the meeting, Elena Nițu, Project Expert at AIDRom, presented the participants with relevant information about the SAFE HUT project. The discussions highlighted the risks and situations experienced by the refugees from Ukraine present at the meeting, while providing an opportunity to identify potential WGSS beneficiaries.
”Economic violence is often overlooked or not identified as violence. Vulnerable groups such as refugee women are even more at risk. The organisation of such a session by the AIDRom team supports refugee women as tools to identify this type of violence are the first step in the fight against it”, points out Elena Nițu, Project Expert at AIDRom.
The two sessions were made possible with the support of our colleague Maryna Zaporozhan, a refugee from Ukraine and current member of the AIDRom team, who provided the translation of this important, but sensitive and terminology-rich topic.
The last part of the meeting consisted of a round table with AIDRom staff involved in gender-based violence activities. The aim of this training session entitled “Strengthening the knowledge and skills of humanitarian workers to implement good practices in integrating GBV risk reduction into economic programmes” was to equip humanitarian aid workers and refugee women in Ukraine with the knowledge and skills needed to provide GBV response services to survivors and women and girls at risk of GBV.
”Any woman can experience gender-based violence which is an abuse of power based on inequality between women and men. Alongside specialised organisations, the AIDRom team is also here to help, and building our capacity in this area is essential”, said Cătălina Cătuți, SAFE HUT project manager.
The SAFE HUT project – Creating safe spaces for the empowerment of women and girls (number: 101100732) is “funded by the European Union. The views and opinions expressed are, however, solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the European Commission can be held responsible for them.”
Mihaela Gheorghe, the VOICE Romania representative who led this training session is a feminist and trainer dedicated to GBV and gender mainstreaming in education. Mihaela graduated in Social Work at the University of Bucharest and completed a Training Program for Human Rights Activists at Columbia University and a Master in Gender and European Institutions (SNSPA, Bucharest). Since 1997, she has been involved in programmes focused on the promotion of women’s and children’s rights, covering various tasks from project assistant to manager and from trainer to expert consultant. She has worked with major international institutions (such as OSCE/ODIHR, UNDP, Council of Europe, Open Society Foundation) to provide technical assistance on Roma integration, so she has acquired a good expertise at European level in human rights, Roma women’s rights, social inclusion, migration, children’s rights. In 2005, Mihaela was an intern at the European Commission, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, where she had the opportunity to learn about the mechanisms of the European Structural Funds. For the last 10 years, Mihaela has been working with the NGO ACEDO managing educational programmes, empowering Roma mothers and running awareness raising campaigns on GBV prevention and promoting gender equality in schools..
VOICE Amplified is an international feminist organisation working to combat violence against women and girls in conflict contexts globally. The VOICE team has been active in Romania since 2022 with the aim of strengthening local and national initiatives for the safety of girls and women victims of gender-based violence, as well as Roma women, refugees, LGBTQIA people+.
HIAS advocates for a world where refugees find welcome, safety and opportunity. HIAS is a non-profit organisation that provides assistance and humanitarian aid to refugees and asylum seekers around the world and advocates for their basic rights so that they can rebuild their lives.