To alleviate the impacts of COVID-19 policies, many initiatives have been developed by civil society organisations – NGOs, local governments, or citizens. A team of national researchers from the RESISTIRÉ project has collected and highlighted a set of particularly relevant initiatives in 27 European countries and in Iceland, Serbia, the United Kingdom and Turkey. These Better Stories cover eight specific domains: gender-based violence, the labour market, the economy, gender-pay and pension gaps, gender care gaps, decision-making and politics, environmental justice, human and fundamental rights.

This Better Story was collected by Alicja Bobek

CRiTiCALL was developed by the Dublin City Volunteer Centre, in collaboration with other organizations, in response to reports of increasing incidents of domestic violence during the COVID-19 restrictions. It originated from ‘Operation Faoisimh/#Still here,’ spearheaded by the Irish police force. The initiative is underpinned by the principle of prioritising domestic violence survivors and individuals vulnerable to domestic abuse.

Tackling Domestic Violence During Crisis

The primary goal of the CRiTiCALL initiative is to support people who have experienced domestic violence during the Covid-19 pandemic. Seven organisations joined forces to launch this initiative: Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Safe Ireland, Dublin City Volunteer Centre, Dún Laoghaire Rathdown Volunteer Centre, Fingal Volunteer Centre, South Dublin County Volunteer Centre, and Wicklow Volunteer Centre.

CRiTiCALL provides home starter kits containing essential items for kitchens, bedding, and hygiene packs, which include items like sanitary wear, toilet rolls, shampoo, conditioner, and soap. Additionally, children’s back-to-school packs are distributed to those in need. These items are collected from donations within communities and are distributed to individuals who have left domestic violence situations. Many of these individuals find refuge in women’s shelters. As part of the support, letters of encouragement are circulated to people in domestic violence shelters. The overall aim of the initiative is to ensure that those leaving abusive situations receive the necessary support for their recovery and their journey towards a safer life.

Find out more about the initiative

Photo from Freepik

To alleviate the impacts of COVID-19 policies, many initiatives have been developed by civil society organisations – NGOs, local governments, or citizens. A team of national researchers from the RESISTIRÉ project has collected and highlighted a set of particularly relevant initiatives in 27 European countries and in Iceland, Serbia, the United Kingdom and Turkey. These Better Stories cover eight specific domains: gender-based violence, the labour market, the economy, gender-pay and pension gaps, gender care gaps, decision-making and politics, environmental justice, human and fundamental rights.

This Better Story was collected by Carolina Wienand-Sangare

The project was launched on short notice in response to the pandemic as part of the Federal Funding Program “Together against violence against women,” initiated by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women, and Youth (BMFSFJ). The Government responded promptly to the challenges presented by the Corona pandemic, ensuring improved accessibility and support for abused women and their children. The application deadline concluded on March 31, 2022.

Enhancing support for women in difficult situations

The “Help System 2.0” project, a recipient of the funding, is dedicated to supporting women’s shelters and specialized counseling centers in effectively navigating the digital challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Its main focus lies in enhancing technical capabilities by providing staff with essential digital training. Moreover, the project extends its support by offering professional language mediation services to counsel women and girls affected by violence. As highlighted on the website, the pandemic exposed a critical issue: numerous women’s shelters and counseling centers faced a severe lack of basic technical resources like computers, company mobile phones, and reliable. This deficiency created significant obstacles, hindering their ability to render optimal assistance to those seeking help.

By investing in such vital initiatives, the project ensures that support services remain robust and readily available even during these challenging times. It empowers women and girls facing violence, offering them the necessary assistance and resources to help them through their difficult situations.

Find out more about the initiative

Photo by pch.vector from Freepik

To alleviate the impacts of COVID-19 policies, many initiatives have been developed by civil society organisations – NGOs, local governments, or citizens. A team of national researchers from the RESISTIRÉ project has collected and highlighted a set of particularly relevant initiatives in 27 European countries and in Iceland, Serbia, the United Kingdom and Turkey. These Better Stories cover eight specific domains: gender-based violence, the labour market, the economy, gender-pay and pension gaps, gender care gaps, decision-making and politics, environmental justice, human and fundamental rights.

This Better Story was collected by Suzanne de Cheveigné

Raising awareness about gender identity

Today, transgender as a gender identity remains unfamiliar to the public, leaving trans individuals vulnerable to daily transphobic prejudice. These biases often hinder or obstruct crucial transition procedures, such as legal status changes and medical treatments, which are vital for people’s well-being. In response, Transat’s works towards raising public awareness about transgender challenges, offering support to the most vulnerable, and actively defending their rights.

Advocating for change

Transat, a Marseille-based organization, comprises transgender individuals dedicated to mutual support and militant advocacy. Alongside addressing their unique health concerns, Transat helps young people rejected by their families. During the lockdown, the challenges faced by trans individuals intensified, including limited access to healthcare, hormones, and family conflicts. Despite these difficulties, Transat helped many violence victims, including young individuals displaced from their homes. Transat successfully established a robust support network of dedicated members.

Find out more about the initiative

Photo by gpointstudio from freepik

To alleviate the impacts of COVID-19 policies, many initiatives have been developed by civil society organisations – NGOs, local governments, or citizens. A team of national researchers from the RESISTIRÉ project has collected and highlighted a set of particularly relevant initiatives in 27 European countries and in Iceland, Serbia, the United Kingdom and Turkey. These Better Stories cover eight specific domains: gender-based violence, the labour market, the economy, gender-pay and pension gaps, gender care gaps, decision-making and politics, environmental justice, human and fundamental rights.

This Better Story was collected by Raili Marling

A programme to break the cycle of domestic violence

The project, funded by the EU’s Local Development and Poverty Reduction programme and Norway Grants, is a collaborative effort between various NGOs dedicated to addressing domestic violence, including organizations like The Women’s Support and Information Center and the Pärnu Women’s Support Centre. Joining forces with Icelandic partners, the initiative aims to provide comprehensive training in five major regions of Estonia. The primary objective is to sensitize front-line workers to recognize signs of domestic violence, while also emphasizing the significance of prevention and the avoidance of re-victimization.

Through this project, a key goal is to raise  awareness regarding the root causes, consequences, and available support options related to domestic violence. By equipping professionals with the necessary training, they are empowered to not only address the immediate consequences but also actively contribute to prevention efforts. This proactive approach enables experts to intervene at the early stages of violence, where the potential for reversing the damage is greater and the mental well-being of potential survivors can be safeguarded before enduring prolonged suffering.

Prevention strategies implementation

To effectively combat this pressing issue, it is crucial to foster strong collaboration among various professionals who regularly come into contact with victims. Beyond specialized practitioners, such as support centers, local authorities, and victim/survivor assistance workers, the project also seeks to engage partners like family doctors, nurses, and court representatives. By involving a wide range of stakeholders, the project endeavors to create a comprehensive support network that can effectively address domestic violence and provide holistic assistance to those affected.

Find out more about the initiative

Photo by Sincerely Media from Unsplash

To alleviate the impacts of COVID-19 policies, many initiatives have been developed by civil society organisations – NGOs, local governments, or citizens. A team of national researchers from the RESISTIRÉ project has collected and highlighted a set of particularly relevant initiatives in 27 European countries and in Iceland, Serbia, the United Kingdom and Turkey. These Better Stories cover eight specific domains: gender-based violence, the labour market, the economy, gender-pay and pension gaps, gender care gaps, decision-making and politics, environmental justice, human and fundamental rights.

This Better Story was collected by Nathalie Wuiame

The ” Ça vaut pas l’coup ” service is a reception, orientation and support system for victims of domestic violence and their entourage. The initiative started in early April 2020, shortly after the first lockdown/confinement started.

A solution for victims of domestic violence

The ” Ça vaut pas l’coup ” project, in collaboration with the regional branches of the FPS and Vie Féminine, took the initiative of writing a letter to all the mayors of the 38 municipalities in the province asking them to make hotel rooms, gîtes and/or transit accommodation available for victims of domestic violence and their children, in compliance with health measures. In response to this request, the city of Namur has set up a temporary emergency shelter with 25 beds. To raise awarness about gender based violence and to attract more hotels to host the victims, the team launched a campaign.

Find out more about the initiative

Photo by  Marcus Loke  on Unsplash

To alleviate the impacts of COVID-19 policies, many initiatives have been developed by civil society organisations – NGOs, local governments, or citizens. A team of national researchers from the RESISTIRÉ project has collected and highlighted a set of particularly relevant initiatives in 27 European countries and in Iceland, Serbia, the United Kingdom and Turkey. These Better Stories cover eight specific domains: gender-based violence, the labour market, the economy, gender-pay and pension gaps, gender care gaps, decision-making and politics, environmental justice, human and fundamental rights.

This Better Story was collected by Ralitsa Golemanova.

Telling the stories of those who help

The Invisible First Line campaign raises funds for crisis and counselling centres for women victims of domestic violence in Bulgaria. These centres are at the forefront of the fight against domestic violence, even more so following the increase of cases due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the campaign, the Bulgarian Women’s Fund aims to:

• tell the stories of psychologists, lawyers and social workers from organisations that work on the front line by providing legal, psychological, and social services, managing crisis centres for temporary accommodation, counselling centres, hotlines for help and mobile services across the country
• raise funds for their urgent needs. These include measures against the spread of COVID-19, the payment of state legal fees for the representation of victims in court, additional hours of work of psychologists and lawyers due to the increased number of cases, textbooks for children and emergency humanitarian aid for women leaving the crisis centres, etc.

An impactful initiative

The initiative has reached 13 organisations that provide support to women and children who are victims of domestic violence. As part of the campaign, the Bulgarian Women’s Fund created a book, available in Bulgarian, telling the stories of the many actors who remain right by the side of the women on their long and difficult journey of freeing themselves from violence and starting a new life.

Find out more about the initiative

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

To alleviate the impacts of COVID-19 policies, many initiatives have been developed by civil society organisations – NGOs, local governments, or citizens. A team of national researchers from the RESISTIRÉ project has collected and highlighted a set of particularly relevant initiatives in 27 European countries and in Iceland, Serbia, the United Kingdom and Turkey. These Better Stories currently cover eight specific domains: gender-based violence, the labour market, the economy, gender-pay and pension gaps, gender care gaps, decision-making and politics, environmental justice, human and fundamental rights.

This Better Story was collected by Kristen Biehl.

An app for women exposed to domestic violence

During the pandemic, domestic violence was a major concern in many countries. People had to stay home because of the pandemic, but this meant putting perpetrators in the same house as their victims. Moreover, the number of places where people at risk could physically access support has steadily decreased. For this reason, the government launched a mobile application called KADES, through which women victims of violence could seek help. But women who did not have a smartphone remained out of reach.

A programme to equip women in need with second-hand smartphones

The “Turkish Federation of Women’s Associations (TKDF)” and “Sabancı Foundation” launched a joint project called “Technology for Women, Solidarity for all of us”. It aimed to deliver second-hand smartphones to women in need. Citizens who wanted to help this project could deliver their used phones to collection centres run by a technology retailer called TeknoSa. TeknoSa, a Sabancı Holding company, with which the Sabancı Foundation is affiliated, cleaned and repaired these phones, which were then delivered to women in need identified by TKDF.

Picture by Jae Park on Unsplash

To alleviate the impacts of COVID-19 policies, many initiatives have been developed by civil society organisations – NGOs, local governments, or citizens. A team of national researchers from the RESISTIRÉ project has collected and highlighted a set of particularly relevant initiatives in 27 European countries and in Iceland, Serbia, the United Kingdom and Turkey. These Better Stories currently cover eight specific domains: gender-based violence, the labour market, the economy, gender-pay and pension gaps, gender care gaps, decision-making and politics, environmental justice, human and fundamental rights.

This Better Story was collected by Kristen Biehl.

The Susma Bitsin (Speak Up To End) platform is a feminist solidarity network founded to combat sexual harassment and discrimination in the film, television and theatre industries.

A platform to fight sexual harassment and discrimination in the film, television and theatre industries

The Susma Bitsin (Speak Up To End) platform is a feminist solidarity network founded to fight sexual harassment and discrimination in the film, television and theatre industries. At the first peak of the MeToo movement in Turkey, after a well-known actor was accused of sexual harassment by a female assistant on set during the shooting of a popular TV series (Yasak Elma), a group of feminist directors and producers working in the Turkish film industry, who called themselves “Purple Producers”, issued a public notice that they would not work with the harasser in their own productions. After the second high-profile disclosure by another actress in a TV series (Elit İşcan), the hashtag #susmabitsin (speak to end it) was created by feminists and quickly became a trending topic. However, this hashtag was also taken to the next level, when women working in the industry created an independent platform called “Susma Bitsin” to fight against sexual harassment and discrimination on film and theatre stages. Within a short period of time, the Susma Bitsin platform has brought together women working and studying in the field of film and theatre under its roof, with the number reaching around 300 women.

A safe space where women can share their experiences of sexual harassment

The Susma Bitsin platform stands in solidarity with women and LGBTIQ+ people working in film, television and theatre, not only in front of the screen but also behind the scenes. She points out that the platform tries to create safe spaces for women to share their experiences of sexual harassment. It also organises closed online meetings for the collective empowerment of women, attends hearings of women who are taking their cases to court and launches online awareness campaigns against mobbing, sexual harassment and assaults that take place in their sectors.

Extending the action to other sectors

Susma Bitsin, while continuing to focus on women facing sexual harassment in film, television and theatre, is creatively adapting its strategies to form feminist alliances with women seeking support, creating spaces for collective empowerment for many of them and encouraging formations such as Susma Bitsin among women’s and LGBTIQ+ groups working in other fields. Many women’s groups, inspired by their alliance with the Susma Bitsin platform, have started to form their own solidarity groups or units against sexual harassment and discrimination in their own institutions or sectors.

Image by Susma Bitsin

To alleviate the impacts of COVID-19 policies, many initiatives have been developed by civil society organisations – NGOs, local governments, or citizens. A team of national researchers from the RESISTIRÉ project has collected and highlighted a set of particularly relevant initiatives in 27 European countries and in Iceland, Serbia, the United Kingdom and Turkey. These Better Stories currently cover eight specific domains: gender-based violence, the labour market, the economy, gender-pay and pension gaps, gender care gaps, decision-making and politics, environmental justice, human and fundamental rights.

Maru is a chatbot that was developed by Plan International and Feminist Internet, together with young activists from Benin, Cameroon, Germany, Ghana, Nepal, South Africa and the UK, who are passionate about promoting internet freedom and safety.‍

A tool to learn about online harassment

The name ‘Maru’ translates as ‘Cloud Space’ in Sesotho. You can chat with Maru to learn more about online harassment, how to protect yourself from it, report and respond to it, or support others going through it. The website itself contains several guides and references to useful information.

Feminist principles at the core of the bot’s design

Additionally, Maru’s creators were guided by feminist design principles which encouraged them to:

• Co-design Maru with young activists
• Consider barriers people may face in accessing Maru
• Ensure Maru’s language is empathetic and inclusive
• Ensure Maru’s appearance doesn’t reinforce stereotypes
• Reflect on biases that might exist in the team
• Ensure Maru represents global perspectives

Currently, Maru is only available in English, but the creators are hoping to make it available in other languages as well in the future.

Image by Feminist Internet x Plan International.

To alleviate the impacts of COVID-19 policies, many initiatives have been developed by civil society organisations – NGOs, local governments, or citizens. A team of national researchers from the RESISTIRÉ project has collected and highlighted a set of particularly relevant initiatives in 27 European countries and in Iceland, Serbia, the United Kingdom and Turkey. These Better Stories currently cover eight specific domains: gender-based violence, the labour market, the economy, gender-pay and pension gaps, gender care gaps, decision-making and politics, environmental justice, human and fundamental rights.

Given the increased prevalence of gender-based violence and digital gender-based violence during the pandemic, the European Commission is proposing a new directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence, which will now be reviewed by the European Parliament.

A directive to prevent and combat violence against women

The proposal will cover the areas of prevention, protection, access to justice, support, coordination and cooperation between authorities. The proposal includes protection against certain forms of cyber violence and recognises the gendered nature of digital violence: “It is necessary to provide for harmonised definitions of offences and penalties  regarding certain forms of cyber violence. Cyber violence particularly targets and  impacts women politicians, journalists, and human rights defenders. It can have the effect of silencing women and hindering their societal participation on an equal footing with men. Cyber violence also disproportionately affects women and girls in educational settings, such as schools and universities, with detrimental consequences to their further education and to their mental health, which may, in extreme cases, lead to suicide.”

A specific focus on cyber violence

It further asks to make the spreading of images without consent a criminal offense, and mentions the threat of ‘deepfakes’. It also calls on minimum rules on cyber stalking (e.g. retrieving location data, hacking home equipment, …), cyber harassment (such as online mob attacks) cyber incitement of hate.

Image by the European Union