The New Year is coming, and the owners and guests of the Rehabilitation Center of the Women Fund "Sukhumi", have created a beautiful New Year's atmosphere.

In December, another group of victims of violence was here - two women with children, 6 people in total. During their stay, they passed comprehensive work with a psychologist, lawyer, and social worker. The teacher worked with the children, they spent interesting and creative time together...

During 2023, more than 30 women with their children received our support.

Psychologist Manana Gotsiridze shared with us the story of one of the women. Nani (conventional name) is 45 years old. She was brought from one of our target municipalities with two adult children.

Nani left home several times and returned after negotiations and persuasion. Three years ago she even called the police, but then withdrew the statement.

“People still talk about me, this is the woman who wanted to put her husband in prison. Mother did everything to convince me to stay with my husband - it’s not good to be called divorced, be patient, we will help you, where to return, your daughter-in-law is at home and your place is not here, you are already a guest. After I got married, I got lost and still can’t find myself. Only children give motivation, but I no longer want children to be in this environment. Before this, I was never able to close the doors behind me. I hope this time it will work.”

The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot

 für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)

Within the framework of the 16-day global campaign youth activities started and will continue until the end of December.

For the given moment, in 10 municipalities, about 1,000 young people took part in thematic discussions, trainings, exhibitions, street actions and performances related to the elimination and prevention of violence.

“The main thing that was emphasized this year is the special partnership of local authorities, educational resource centers, youth departments, school directorates, teachers and parents in our campaign. Our constructive and effective steps have led to the main thing - trust: everything we do is for the proper education of young people,” noted the assistant of working with the youth Nino Chabukiani.

Trainers who conduct training at Youth Empowerment Centers in 10 municipalities talk about the significant contribution of youth to the campaign:

The training course is actively continuing at the Youth Empowerment Centers. Young people get acquainted with new topics with interest, get used to individual or group work, and a culture of discussion.

The December trainings coincided with the information campaign “16 active days against gender-based violence”. Therefore, it was decided that all ten centers should be included in the campaign (Samtredia, Terjola, Vani, Bagdati, Senaki, Zugdidi, Tsalenjikha, Khobi, Kobuleti, Chokhatauri).

Young people started preparation in November and carried out all planned initiated activities on time: creative events, interviews, exhibitions, actions... They themselves were the authors and performers of all events. Teachers and representatives of the school administration were included in the organization as much as possible.

The young people of the Youth Empowerment Centers gained a lot of experience by actively participating in the campaign of this year.

The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot

 für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)

Sasha is seven years old, Kirill is eight, Artyom is 15, and Levan, whose mother is Ukrainian and father is Georgian, is ten.

These children often come to psychologist Manana Gotsiridze together with their mothers. Because they need help - the war has changed their way of life, their character...

Fear of loneliness, difficulties of adaptation, hyperactivity, isolation – the psychologist works on these problems with children from Ukraine.

In parallel with children, consultations are held with adults to “ventilate” negative emotions.

In December, the psychologist met with 14 Ukrainian refugees. These meetings, free psychological consultations, useful advice and assistance are especially valuable and necessary for them.

The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot

 für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)

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

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.

In the framework of the campaign of 16 active days against gender-based violence, the performance of puppet theater was held along with scheduled forum theater performances.

The meeting took place at Kutaisi, Public School No. 2. The pupils of the primary classes attended the performances. Young actors showed the children the play “Turtledove”. The children watched the performance with great interest. The play was dedicated to friendship, support, and equality. The school leaders expressed gratitude to the representatives of the Fund “Sukhumi” and asked the puppet theatre staff to conduct the performances for the other classes at the end of January.

The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot

 für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)

War is the most brutal violence against women - women IDPs from Abkhazia and refugees from Ukraine know this well. That is why our Ukrainian guests joined the campaign of “16 active days against gender-based violence”.

They attended the final event of the campaign, heard information about the events held by the Women Fund “Sukhumi” in the municipalities of Western Georgia.

The Ukrainians expressed their gratitude. They noted that the support of the Fund “Sukhumi” to their families is immeasurable. The support is expressed by humanitarian assistance, psychological consultation or retraining - for example, some of them passed the courses of polymer clay at a day rehabilitation center.

The day spent with the Fund “Sukhumi” staff and the representatives of various municipalities ended with pleasant impressions for the Ukrainian guests.

The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot

 für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)

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

In the framework of the 16-day campaign, a meeting on the topic “Gender mainstreaming - gender impacts” was held with decision-makers from 8 municipalities of Samegrelo - Zemo Svaneti in the conference room of Khobi City Council. The topic was presented by the Parliament Member of Georgia Nino Tsilosani and the invited trainer of the Permanent Parliamentary Council on Gender Equality Elene Beriashvili.

After the meeting, performances of the Women Fund “Sukhumi” forum theater were held in the small hall of the House of Culture.

The events were attended by members of the Parliament of Georgia: Giorgi Khakhubia, Irakli (Dachi) Beraia, Greta Tsitsava, State Commissioner of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti Giorgi Guguchia with his deputies, Chairman of the City Council of Khobi municipality Levan Kavtaradze and Mayor David Bukia.

The performances at the forum theater made a great impression on the participants. They received information about the work of the Fund “Sukhumi”, about active participation in the 16-day campaign and the format of work with youth, which raised interest among the meeting participants.

The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot

 für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)