Strengthening Community Leaders

Today, we took another important step toward strengthening women’s safety at the community level. Community women leaders and paraspecialists are the ones who notice the early signs of violence, hear women’s stories first, and support them in taking their very first steps toward safety. Their knowledge and capacity directly determine whether a woman in the community receives timely and adequate support. On 15 November, we held an intensive training: “Strengthening Community Leaders in Identifying, Referring, and Supporting Women Affected by Domestic Violence.” Throughout the day, we worked together on essential topics, including: the nature, forms, and indicators of domestic violence, referral mechanisms and effective coordination among key actors, practical case-based exercises, and, importantly, the use of the new Digital Resource Center as an information and support tool for women experiencing violence. Our goal is to strengthen an informed, sensitive, and well-coordinated community response system. This system ensures no woman is left alone, neither at the first sign of violence nor at any point afterwards. This training is part of a long-term process that the Women’s Fund “Sukhumi” has been building for years: creating safe, empowered, and violence-free environments for women, community by community. Together, we create spaces where women’s voices are always heard. Together, we make sure that violence is no longer invisible.

The project implemented with the support of the DANNER - Kvindecenterfonden Dannerhuset