March 2022 – February 2024: FuTuRE - Fostering Tools of Resiliance and Emersion of GBV with intersectional perspective”
FuTuRE is a CERV-founded project (Citizen, Equality, Rights and Value) coordinated by DD in partnership with University of TUSCIA aimed at prevent and combat gender based violence, with a specific focus on women victims of Intimate Partners Violence and multiple discriminations, through the updating and of risk assessment tools, methodologies and procedures , as well as the enhancement of multi-agency cooperation.
Specific objectives of the project are:
• To update risk assessment tools (SARA and ISA) from a gender and intersectional perspective, as well as taking into account childrens rights and critical issues from the COVID-19 pandemic;
• To set guidelines for the integrated use of updated risk assessment tools and methodologies (ISA, SARA);2
• To strengthen professionals’ capacity to assess risks of intimate partner violence and to respond accordingly;
• To promote multi-agency cooperation based on risks assessment through innovative protocols;
• To disseminate project result and raise awareness on the importance of risks assessment and multi-agency; cooperation;
• To raise awareness and empower women victims of Intimate Partner Violence through the dissemination of inclusive risks self-assessment tools (ISA).
The main project activities include:
• A research activity, coordinated by University of Tuscia, aimed at collect information on specific risk factors and vulnerabilities that needed to be taken into account to increase the relevance of risks assessment tools for women victims of IPV and multiple discrimination, including specific factors emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic. The research will also include an analysis of secondary data on access to anti-violence services to highlight any possibile gap;
• The updating and test of risk assessment tools (SARA and ISA), and the development of guidelines for their integrated use by different professionals
• Capacity building activities at local (Roma and Salerno) and national level on risk assessment procedures and methodologies;
• Workshop and development of reccomendations aimed at strenghtening multi-agency cooperation;
• Awareness raising and dissemination;
• Dissemination campaign of the updating and translated ISA, that will be available online in 15 languages and augmentative communication.
www.differenzadonna.org/future-eng
November 2021 – October 2023: AMELIE - enhAncing Mechanisms of idEntification, protection and muLti-agency collaboration through transnational and multi-sectoral actors’ Engagement
AMELIE is an AMIF (Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund) programme that aims to increase the capacity of health care and frontline service providers to identify, safely refer and provide gender- and trauma-sensitive services to trafficked persons - with a focus on adult women - in Belgium, Greece, Germany and Italy.
More specifically, the programme aims at:
- empowering trafficking survivors and improving access to their rights and to healthcare services;
- enhancing the capacity of professionals working with trafficked persons, especially medical personnel, through trainings and e-learning tools;
- improving detection and identification mechanisms by establishing better cooperation among anti-trafficking actors and health care systems.
AMELIE will:
- enhance the capacity of more than 200 health-care/medical professionals through dedicated learning tools and capacity-building activities.
- facilitate early identification through training, awareness raising, and disseminating tools for enhanced detection and referral, targeting approx. 5,000 professionals and multipliers.
- improve multi-stakeholder cooperation among key anti-trafficking actors to reinforce national and transnational referral mechanisms.
- address the challenges of identification and support in emergency settings, such as the Covid-19 crisis, highlighting solutions and best practices to shift from in-person to online provision an2d vice versa.
- support the empowerment of 180 survivors and their access to psycho-social and specialized medical assistance, including counselling, referrals, prevention and self-care services and practices, based on victims’ needs and preferences.
- raise awareness within the broader public about human trafficking.
More specifically, within the project, DD will:
- implement 4 training days for health-care/medical professionals;
- strenghtening existing protocols and cooperation among key anti-trafficking actors and the health system;
- support at least 50 women victims of trafficking by providing gender specific support, with a special focus on p2hysical and psychological wellbeing;
- coordinate a transnational committee on the monitoring of COVID-19 consequences on trafficking;
- coordinate a transnational awareness raising campaign.
DD will also cooperate, with the other partners, to the development of:
- Training tools for trainers and professionals in the health sector;
- Lessons learnt report from the implementation of trainings;
- National report on service provision;
- Handbook with good/bad practices from the field.
Find more information on the project website: https://www.project-amelie.eu/
January 2021- December 2022: MIRIAM - Free Migrant Women from GBV, through identification and access to specialized support service
MIRIAM is a European project aimed at improving the emergence, protection, and specialized support services for migrant women victims of gender-based violence, with a strong focus on victims of sexual exploitation, domestic violence, and forced marriage.
Miriam is a project funded by the Rights, Equality and Citizenship Program (REC) of the European Union.
Partners are APG23 (lead partner, Italy), Differenza Donna (Italy), and Fundacion Amaranta (Spain).
Specific objectives of the project are:
- Increase the capacity of relevant actors to identify migrant women victims of GBV and refer them to specialized support services;
-Increase the capacity of professional(s) in contact with migrant women with mental health problems resulting from violence;
-Enlarge the public-private network of specialized support services targeting migrant women victims of GBV.
Main actions:
-Production of training materials and 1st level training (emergence and referral).
-Production of training materials and 2nd level training (referral managers).
-Drafting of territorial protocols that ensure clear and appropriate referral procedures for migrant women victims of GBV
-Training aimed at trainers on trauma and collaboration between different actors
-Realization of 5 seminars on mental health issues and the psychological harm of violence;
-Recommendations on best practices and guidelines.
At the end of the Project, Differenza Donna will contribute, through the implementation of training activities in 5 Italian cities (Rome, Padua, Genoa, Modena, Rimini), with APG23, to the training of approx:
- 400 male and female operators of low-threshold services on the recognition and emergence of gender-based violence against migrant women;
- 100 experienced operators and professional figures on trauma and mental distress of GBV victims.
October 2020- September 2022: ACTIVATE (enhancing the anti-trafficking identification, prevention, and support mechanisms)
Differenza Donna is a partner in the European project ACTIVATE, funded by the AMIF fund, along with three other organizations (Kmop-Greece, Solwodi-Germany, and Animus-Bulgaria).
The project's overall objective is to strengthen prevention, identification, and support mechanisms aimed at victims of human trafficking, with a special focus on trafficked women for sexual exploitation.
The main activities of the project concern:
- Capacity-building actions aimed at operators and workers of reception centers for asylum seekers and holders of international protection, as well as lawyers and advocates, aimed at strengthening their skills in recognizing and supporting victims;
- Strengthening of National Referral Mechanisms, through targeted actions for each of the target countries, but also transnational workshops for the exchange of experiences and good practices as well as the improvement of support services aimed at trafficked women experiencing multiple discrimination;
- Awareness and dissemination campaigns aimed at countering stereotypes that hinder survivors' pathways to social inclusion.
Video campaign “Empowered women empower the world” in English
Video campaign “Empowered women empower the world” I’m Blessing, and I’m from Nigeria (English version)
Video campaign “Empowered women empower the world” I’m Xiu Lan, and I’m Chinese (English version)
Video campaign “Empowered women empower the world” I’m Kelly, and I’m Brazilian (English version)
Video campaign “Empowered women empower the world” I’m S’anra and I’m a Roma woman (English version)
January 2019 - December 2020
2019 – LOOK WIDE-Developing A Working Method To Support LGTBI Victims Of Gender-Based Violence
Differenza Donna was a partner within the European project "LOOK WIDE" Developing A Working Method to Support LGTBI Victims of Gender-Based Violence, along with four other international realities.
LGTBI people who find themselves in situations of gender-based violence (GBV) in the EU do not receive adequate support, and often suffer a violation of their rights. Support services to victims of gender-based violence in its various forms (partner violence in intimate relationships or sexual assault, for example) are mainly directed to heterosexual women affected by gender-based violence perpetrated by men. Sexual diversity is not integrated into the working approaches of reception centers and psychological, legal, and professional counseling services. As a consequence, LGTBI people do not turn to these services or, when they do so, they do not receive the right services that suit their needs.
In this project, we propose to:
- Spread knowledge of gender-based violence against LGTBI people;
- Improve the skills of key professionals to meet their needs, also making use of good practices;
- GBT LGTBI with an approach based on gender and sexual diversity;
- Test support, awareness and empowerment actions for LGTBI victims;
- Raise awareness among professionals, policymakers, and civil society rules on the need to improve services for LGTBI victims.
In addition, the project included an in-depth analysis of the needs addressed on the experiences of violence of LGBTI victims, as well as on the shortcomings and problems of the available services and good practices at the European level.
Project Partners:
SURT (Spain)
Differenza Donna (Italy)
Dissens - Institut für Bildung und Forschung e.V. (Germany)
Family and Childcare Center - KMOP (Greece)
Háttér Society (Hungary)
http://www.lookwideproject.eu/
January 2019 - December 2020: "TOLERANT: TransnatiOnaL network for Employment integRAtion of womeN vicTims of trafficking"
Tolerant is a European project aimed at promoting the labor integration of women victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation through a gender perspective.
Funded by the European Union's Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF)
Duration: 2 years (January 2019-December 2020)
Partners: Kmop (Greece-leader), DD, Lefo (Austria), AidRom (Romania), Animus (Bulgaria), Cesie (Palermo)
Project's goals:
- Strengthen the transnational cooperation and exchanges on the integration of women victims of trafficking in the labor market;
- Improve access to integrated services based on a gender approach in support of their access to employment for women victims of trafficking (taking into account the specific needs of the victims);
- Create awareness among employers, recruiters and policymakers, and/or other stakeholders, on the importance of facilitating women's access to the labor market.
Main actions:
- Creation and launch of a transnational cooperation network for occupational integration and exchange of good practices;
- Organization of international workshops for exchanging good practices;
- Development of a guide for the implementation of integrated services aimed at women victims of trafficking to support their access to employment;
- Implementation of integrated services for access to employment;
- Awareness campaigns and events.
2018 – 2019
BEFORE (Best practices to Empower women against Female genital mutilation, Operating for Rights and legal Efficacy)
European Union Daphne project focused on the prevention and contrast of FGM (female genital mutilation) practices in Belgium, France, and Italy. The main objective is to contribute to greater effectiveness of the legal and political framework to prevent and combat FGM. The specific objectives are: to strengthen policies that combat and prevent FGM, by building on best practices at EU level; promote the revision/implementation of policy, legislative and financial measures and procedures to assess prevalence, prevention and combat FGM at a national level;
increase the capacity of key professionals and CSOs to provide support and protection to victims and potential victims of FGM; raise awareness of migrant communities at risk.
The project, of which Differenza Donna was the leader, ended on December 31st, 2019 and addressed:
- 480 members of civil society organizations, national and international institutions, media, and other interested parties;
- 265 medical and legal professionals, refugee commissions, anti-violence centers, and associations of migrant women;
- 528 migrant women, asylum seekers, migrant communities, victims of FGM, and women at risk.
- 4,500 people (via a photo exhibition and web advertising).
www.differenzadonna.org/before-project/
2017 – 2018
WEIP Women Empowerment Integration Participation
The project is supported by the European Fund for Integration and Migration (AMIF) and aims to enhance, in four countries (Spain, Italy, UK, and Poland), the possibilities for migrant women to integrate into the social fabric, through social empowerment activities and work.
Europe is facing a massive wave of refugees from war-torn countries, and partners in this project are already seeing a further increase. In particular, the experience of refugee women is marked by further discrimination that requires gender interventions to facilitate their integration. The number of migrant women in Europe is also growing, due to the feminization of poverty and the search for better education and jobs. Gender discrimination plays a fundamental role in the reasons for migration. Migrating represents, in a broad sense, a source of opportunity for women. However, this shift is also the cause of the strengthening of restrictive gender stereotypes and the lack of women's decision-making power. Our experience teaches us that migrant and refugee women (MRW) come without any knowledge of the language of the host country, do not know how to orient themselves within society, remain trapped in low-skilled and low-paid jobs, and often are victims of violence and abuse, as well as sexual exploitation. Gender roles influence the social integration of MRW and how they can contribute and benefit from host communities.
The Women's Empowerment Integration and Participation (WEIP) project, of which Differenza Donna is a partner, wants to propose new integration opportunities for MRW in four states of the European Union (Italy, Spain, Poland, and the United Kingdom).
The project's goal is to offer migrant and refugee women (MRW) arriving in Europe, better life prospects, increased opportunities for integrating into the various host countries by enhancing their skills, access to services, and employment opportunities.
The planned activities will meet the project's priorities by implementing effective initiatives in the four European countries, such as language courses and skills development, work and study orientation, specialist consultancy, and recreational activities.
Thanks to this holistic program of complementary activities, WEIP will help promote integration, facilitate access to work, and provide better employment prospects for MRW, which are often trapped in low-skilled and underpaid jobs.
The partners of the project are:
KARAT Coalition http://www.karat.org/
Differenza Donna https://www.differenzadonna.org/
Red Acoge http://www.redacoge.org/es/
Latin American Women’s Rights Service - LAWRS http://www.lawrs.org.uk/en/
Here is a beautiful video that tells two years of the WEIP project: click here
If you want to access the teaching material:
on the Right to Health click here
on the literacy course on rights and empowerment for migrant women, refugees and asylum seekers click here
on the literacy course on rights and empowerment for migrant women, refugees and asylum seekers - The world of work in Italy click here
For information:
Sabrina Frasca, WEIP Project Manager for Differenza Donna: sab_frasca@virgilio.it
November 2017 - December 2017
FAI-6: First and Accessible Information on the health and protection system for FGM survivors, in 6 languages. A pilot project to enhance the Italian identification, referral, and response mechanism for FGM survivors or women and girls escaping from FGM risks.
The Project aims to reduce the risk of gender-based violence and stem the consequences of exposure to female genital mutilation for women and girls from countries with a high FGM rate, through an information campaign on women's rights, health, legal, and reception services, coordinated with the identification, the referral mechanism, the response, and the procedures for determining the status of refugee based on a gender-sensitive approach centered on the survivors.
Beneficiaries: About 70,000 women and girls who have undergone FGM or who are at risk.
Accomplished results:
• we created, printed, and distributed 70,000 leaflets and 600 posters in six different languages (Italian, English, French, Arabic, Tigrinya, Somali) to provide women (potential) victims of FGM with first and comprehensible information on the Italian protection system. We sent the material to 600 institutional stakeholders and civil society bodies at the national level (police headquarters, hospitals, immigration offices, Anti-trafficking Centers, CAS, SPRAR, hospitals, CAV, CR). You can download the information material at this LINK
We have increased the attention, capacity, and collaboration of 600 civil society institutions and bodies at the national level, engaged in initial detection, secure communication, and access to services for FGM survivors, including support for national asylum application procedures.
To make the information even more accessible for women, and also for operators who are in the sector guiding their way, we have created within our website, a webpage dedicated to FGM in 10 different languages (Italian, English, French, Arabic, Tigrinus, Somali, Pidgin English, Mandingo, Wolof, Amharic). In each of these pages there is a Video Tutorial that provides information on the care and support services to which a woman who survived FGM, or who wants to protect her child from the risk of suffering them, can turn.
2016 – 2018
Safety net
The project, in partnership with Greece and Spain and funded by the European Commission's Daphne program, aims to ensure access to adequate protection services for migrant and refugee victims of gender-based violence. The project includes training, research, and implementation of empowerment activities for migrant and refugee women.
To download the Safety Net project brochure for local actors, civil society, operators and reception center operators on the rights of migrant and refugee women click here
2015 – 2016
G.A.P.S. – Gendering Asylum Protection System
The research project, funded by the "Feminist Review Trust", aims at filling the gaps in the international protection system for asylum request from women and seeks to:
1. collect data and information on asylum requests submitted by women and their outcome;
2. detect good and bad practices that limit women's access to the international protection system;
3. systematize the analyzes produced on the theme of asylum and related gender issues, without neglecting the feminist debate and spreading it in Italy between operators and institutions.
2015 – 2014
Erasmus + KA 1 Learning Mobility of Individuals
The mobility project was financed by the Erasmus +, the EU's program to support education, training, youth, and sport in Europe, from 2014-2020. It concerned moments of exchange of good practices in 12 different European countries, as well as individual training on the topic of violence against women and the management of anti-violence centers.
The objectives of the project were to:
- Provide training courses and career guidance courses to encourage the reintegration of disadvantaged women into the labor world, with support paths.
- Improve tools and techniques used in all training courses with a particular look to self-help groups and courses for anti-violence workers.
2015 – 2013
GendeRIS: the gender dimension in anti-trafficking policies and prevention activities in Romania, Italy and Spain.
The GendeRIS project was funded by the European Union's Prevention and Fight against Crime Program and has Differenza Donna as a partner together with two other European associations specialized in the prevention and fight against trafficking in human beings. It was born to support and intensify the fight against trafficking through the development of a gender methodology. The project aims to provide local and international policymakers with the most effective methodological and theoretical tools in fighting and preventing trafficking in women.
2014 – 2013
Exit GBV dialogue: Intercultural dialogue between Italy and Morocco on gender-based violence and migration
The Exit GBV dialog project was funded by the Anna Lindh Foundation, and had Differenza Donna as its leader in partnership with IPDF - Initiatives pour la protection des Droits des Femmes in Marocco. The program envisaged the implementation and development of dual research, in Italy and Morocco, on gender discrimination and gender-based violence in Moroccan women in Morocco, and first and second-generation Moroccan women in Italy. The research aimed to identify the changing factors in the integration processes regarding gender violence and facilitate gender policies for migrant women in Italy.
2012 – 2001
Mehwar Center for the Protection and Empowerment of Women and Families – Bethlehem
Project funded by the Italian Cooperation and the World Bank. The program envisaged the opening of a pilot anti-violence center for women and children from the occupied Palestinian territories (Bethlehem) and the implementation of all the necessary activities for its management. The project has seen an important implementation of the Association's high professional skills, in order to ensure adequate sharing for the project with local institutions.
The Center offered the following specialized services:
- Protected hospitality for 35 women (with children) and girls victims of violence
- Individual projects for exiting violence and social reintegration
- Socio-psychological and legal consultancy, as well as parenting support for families in difficulty
- Nursery and health advice
- Prevention of violent behavior and awareness-raising for the community
- Gym and recreational activities;
- Coffee bar
- The last 4 services were also open to local women, to facilitate the attendance to the Center and bring it closer to the entire female community.
2011 – 2009
Zorha Antiviolence Centers - Initiative for the protection of the rights and dignity of women and minors in the West Bank
The Italian Cooperation in Jerusalem financed the emergency project through which Differenza Donna opened three anti-violence branches, the Zorha Anti-violence Centers, in the villages of Dura Yatta and Halhul, within the Hebron Governorship. In the branches, great attention was given to cases of domestic violence, incest, early and forced marriages, polygamy, and segregation.
Activities: individual counseling and psycho-social support, legal advice and representation in court, awareness groups for the community, health advice, and network with local services.
2010 – 2008
Kaliningrad Alliance for Women’s Empowerment
The project funded by Tacis IBPP - Institution Building Partnership Program Support to Civil Society and Local Initiatives of the European Union, called Kaliningrad Alliance for Women's Empowerment, was carried out by Differenza Donna in the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation, to establish 6 anti-violence offices.
The objectives of the project were to:
- Question the traditional view of gender roles
- Encourage the creation of active networks and collaborations between civil society and public institutions
- Reduce socio-economic marginality and the consequent vulnerability of women living in the Kaliningrad region
- Mainstreaming gender policies within local public policies.
2010 – 2008
Boosting a Culture of Women’s Rights in Kazakhstan – Integrated Project to Reduce Social Marginality & Empower Vulnerable Women in Kokchetav, Chimkent, Taraz, Enbekshi-Kazak
The objective of the project concerned the opening of an anti-violence center in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and more specifically, the creation of 'capacity building' for selected NGOs of Kazakh women and public institutions in response to the needs of vulnerable women, including those who survived domestic violence.
The project has contributed to reducing the beneficiaries' marginality and segregation through the strengthening of the organizations' competences, the improvement of their role and visibility in the political decision-making process, as well as the application of new approaches to social assistance.
2009
Ovunedhiwa Wa Ayhiana - Mozambique, Maputo, Quelimane, Zambe
Within the UNV Volunteer Program, the Ovunedhiwa Wa Ayhiana Project saw the participation of the Municipality of Rome, the Casa Internazionale delle Donne, and various NGOs, including Differenza Donna, which conducted missions in support of the Mozambican NGO Nafeza. The goal was to implement an anti-violence center in Quelimane for women and children victims of gender and domestic violence. The objectives of the missions were: to support the implementation of a network with local institutions and to train the staff of the future anti-violence center.
2007 – 2003
Progetto Daphne S.A.R.A. – Spousal Assault Risk Assessment
European Commission Daphne Program.
In 2003 Differenza Donna launches the program S.A.R.A. - Spousal Assault Risk Assessment, funded by the European Commission's DAPHNE for the prevention and elimination of all forms of violence against women and children. The project aimed to prevent cases of femicide, by making available to professionals (mainly law enforcement workers, social workers, and judges) a useful tool to promptly identify risk factors for recidivism and escalation of violence in relations between partners, through the development of a risk scale. Differenza Donna carried out training in Italy and internationally, validated the procedure in Italy, and transferred to the partner countries: Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal, Lithuania, and the Czech Republic. Due to its usefulness and innovative characteristics, the project was funded for four years and its results also extended to other countries.
2005
International Youth Exchange “Sobre la violencia de genero”
The project, which took place in San Jose, Costa Rica, involved young workers of avant-garde women's associations in the fight against gender-based violence, including Differenza Donna. The goal was to fight the "invisibility" of this phenomenon which affects all countries without distinction, in Costa Rica particularly.
Among the participating countries were: Mexico (SIJUVE), Paraguay (Estudios Rurales), Uruguay (BICE), and Germany (DAFF).
2004
Support to the Fulfillment of Child and Adolescent Rights: the Fight against Poverty
The project supported by Unicef, the Municipality of Rome and the Municipality of Genoa, promoted the establishment of a network between Italy and Nicaragua for medical and social services, as well as law enforcement agencies, through the intervention of two Italian NGOs: Differenza Donna from Rome and Artemisia from Florence. Both are experts in the design and management of anti-violence centers. Realized in Nicaragua, in the districts of Managua, Leon, Chinandega, Matagalpa, and Rivas, it had the purpose of exchanging skills in the fight against violence against women.
2003
International Youth Exchange “Women Trafficking”
Differenza Donna in partnership with four women's associations engaged in the fight against trafficking and the exploitation of prostitution financed by the European Community in Minsk (Belarus), had the aim of developing common strategies to contrast the phenomenon of forced prostitution. Participating countries were: Italy (Differenza Donna, Afsai); Spain (Plan Jovanes); Azerbaijan (New Faces); Belarus (La Strada). Other countries that contributed were: Sweden (A_Net Youth Forum); Ukraine (Social New Names, Rozrada); Moldova (Civic Initiative); Bulgaria (Women Alliance for Development); Georgia (Ertoba); Russia (Swallows).
2002
Bangladesh, Dakha
The Project, promoted by the Department of Equal Opportunities of the Municipality of Rome, aimed at opening the International Center for Women's Human Rights in Rome. It involved a mission in Dakha to develop a good reception and support practices for women disfigured by acid. The Bangladeshi and Pakistan women who arrived in Rome were hosted by the City of Rome's Anti-violence Center first, and following its opening, at the International Center for Women's Human Rights. There they received medical and psychological assistance to support the period of plastic surgery interventions, and conclude the project with their assisted repatriation or insertion in the Italian territory.
2001
Albania, Tirana
The project was promoted by the Albanian government and the IOM (International Organization for Migration). Differenza Donna was invited to Tirana to participate in the exchange of skills on women's trafficking, and to present the video: "Against our will" in Albanian schools, produced by Differenza Donna, to prevent and inform women about the racket of human traffickers.