An information-sharing meeting was held with participants from the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) and civil society representatives. Ekaterine Gamakharia, the head of the Tbilisi office of the Women's Fund "Sukhumi," along with women community leaders residing in the conflict's dividing line, participated in the meeting.
During the discussion, representatives of non-governmental organizations focusing on women's issues, along with conflict-affected women, including those residing in villages near the dividing line and displaced women, delved into a comprehensive analysis of the current situation in regions not controlled by Georgia. The conversation also covered villages located near the conflict's dividing line, humanitarian challenges faced by the local population, and the specific needs of conflict-affected women. The women emphasized the heightened sense of physical danger prevalent among the population near the dividing line, particularly following the incident where a Georgian citizen was killed by Russian border guards. Additionally, there was recognition of a concerning trend in the deterioration of mental and psychological health within the community. The discussion also brought attention to the poor socio-economic conditions and the lack of access to basic needs and services in the affected areas.
During the meeting of two women initiative groups of Khoni, the women talked about the dynamics of advocacy and planned activities for the 16-day campaign against gender-based violence. "Peace and Peaceful Youth Initiatives" was the topic of the training, which was held with the members of the youth group of Khoni Municipality. The participants talked about what peace is associated with and whether they feel safe and secure in the current situation. They also emphasized the youth peace initiatives and their responsibility in the peace building process.
The ordinary meeting of Kutaisi Women Initiative Group was held to prioritize the needs of IDPs, conduct advocacy and determine plans for the future.
The group leader presented a short report to the audience and spoke about the challenges faced in the advocacy process. They discussed ways to solve the problem, a new form of cooperation with self-government and involvement of a lobbyist to get better results.
Members of the initiative group expressed their desire to participate in the network in the future and filled out an electronic version of the form.
The project is implemented with the support
of the UN Women organization
Members of Khoni Women Initiative Group summarized the results of the work done within the framework of the project during online meeting. They got acquainted with blogs that cover their activities. Particular emphasis was placed on issues that are currently being advocated. Meeting with the representative of local government was held in order to assess the dynamics of problem advocacy.
The project is implemented with the support
of the UN Women organization
Ekaterine Gamakharia, the head of Women Fund “Sukhumi” Tbilisi Office was privileged to represent Women Fund Sukhumi and civil society organizations as a panelist at a remarkable side event organized by Canada, Chair of the Forum for Security Co-operation, and Ireland, Chair of the Human Dimension Committee. The event was dedicated to the crucial topic of „It's about people': Mental health impacts of war on civilians and military personnel.“
Among panelists were Mr. Oleksandr Klen, Clinical Psychologist at the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Dr. Julijana Stojanova, Deputy Head of the Human Resources Department, Ministry of Defence of the Republic of North Macedonia, Mr. Andrew Gardner, Deputy Head of Human Rights Departments, ODIHR, and Major-General March Bilodeau, Surgeon General in the Canadian Armed Forces.
A traditional meeting was held with the members of both Khoni Women Initiative Groups. The participants talked about the International Day of Girls Child and their rights, as well as the needs of women living in rural areas. During the meeting it was mentioned that girls' rights are not properly protected in Georgia and women living in rural areas are facing a lot of infrastructural, social and educational problems. During the meeting held with the members of Khoni youth club, the leader of the club presented a presentation about the International Day of Girls, introduced information about the history of the creation of the holiday and its meaning; One of the club members spoke about women living in rural areas in the format of a presentation. Based on the interviews, she introduced the participants to an ordinary day of a woman. Young people exchanged opinions, discussed problems and needs, and a discussion was held about gender equality.
The members of the youth club of the village Didinedzi discussed gender issues seen through the eyes of young people. They talked about how much information their peers have on the mentioned issue and named the existing problems and challenges in terms of gender. The members of the Women Initiative Group of the village Didinedzi spoke about the advocacy of the identified problems. They discussed the issues in detail and negotiated the future plan.
During October meeting the members of the Women Initiative Group of the village Pakhulani - Tsalenjikha municipality spoke about the problems identified during the advocacy. They reviewed the direction in which the work should be improved to solve the problems identified by them.
Ekaterine Gamakharia, the head of the Tbilisi representative office of "Women's Fund Sukhumi," participated in the 25th international conference organized by the WAVE network in Madrid. The conference focused on the topic of "Institutional violence and its impact on women's rights in Europe." Approximately 200 women's rights defenders from various European countries discussed institutional violence against women, female migrants, and disabled individuals who have experienced abuse at the hands of state structures.
During the conference, Ekaterine Gamakharia took part in a parallel panel discussion with representatives from the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) and non-governmental organizations that are partners of the WAVE network. These organizations, including the Center "Women's Perspectives" in Lviv, Ukraine; the Sexual Assault Crisis Center in Yerevan, Armenia; and the "United Women of Banja Luka" Foundation in Bosnia & Herzegovina, provided insights into the project. Gamakharia had the opportunity to share information about the toolkit titled "Prevention and response to gender-based violence in the war and post-war period: Experience and recommendations of women's non-governmental organizations." The toolkit describes the experiences and best practices of women's organizations in Ukraine, Armenia, Georgia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina in preventing and responding to violence against conflict-affected women in war, protracted conflict, and post-conflict settings. The toolkit can be accessed here
