“ Empowering women economically should be part of our response to domestic violence ”

“ECONOMIC DEPENDENCE IS AN ISSUE FOR MANY WOMEN WHO EXPERIENCE VIOLENCE FROM THEIR PARTNER. IT IS ALSO A REASON WHY SOME OF THEM CANNOT LEAVE VIOLENT RELATIONSHIPS: THEY DO NOT KNOW WHERE TO GO AND HOW TO PROVIDE FOR THEMSELVES. IT BECOMES EVEN MORE COMPLICATED WHEN CHILDREN ARE INVOLVED – IN MANY CASES, WOMEN ARE EVEN MORE RELUCTANT TO PUT THEM AT RISK OF ECONOMIC HARDSHIP,” SAYS ROSSANA SCARICABAROZZI, SHARING SOME OF THE MAIN REASONS BEHIND THE PROJECT WE GO! - WOMEN ECONOMIC-INDEPENDENCE & GROWTH OPPORTUNITY.

WE GO! aims to improve programmes addressed to women who experience violence from their partner. Its special focus is on activities – in collaboration with established anti-violence centres – that promote women’s economic empowerment. Initiated by ActionAid – an international development organisation with a focus on human rights - the project collects and analyses data gathered at the anti-violence centres in order to better prepare them for the needs of women: which socio-economic context women usually come from, if they have a job, which skills they are lacking to get a job, etc. Based on this, WE GO! developed a toolkit and various training programmes aiming to equip anti-violence centre workers to better address the needs of women. The project involves 15 partners from seven EU Member States - Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, Greece, Cyprus, Sweden, Bulgaria – including seven anti-violence centres in Greece, Bulgaria, Spain and Italy.

These anti-violence centres not only provide shelters for women who leave their homes due to violence, but they also train women and prepare them for future jobs. “We have language courses for those women who do not speak Italian; we have special courses to help women find their professional path and we train them for the job they would like to have,” shares Mariangela Zanni, a communication officer at the anti-violence centre Centro Veneto Progetti Donna in Italy. “Each woman has her own story: that is why we do not have a standard approach of how to help women,” Eleonora Lozzi, psychologist at Centro Veneto Progetti Donna, continues. “We listen to them, we see what they need, we come up with tailored ways of how to help them. How long a woman stays at the centre depends on individual circumstances, but we make sure she leaves confident in her skills and capable of starting a new life.”

In 2016 alone, Centro Veneto Progetti Donna welcomed 878 women with 645 children. Most of these women leave the centre empowered to start a new life, with a job or skills needed to shortly find one. “When I came to the centre I had doubts that I could be financially self-sufficient and independent – my self-esteem was dramatically lowered by the situation I had been in," shares one of the women. She continues, “When I came to the centre, I had no hopes. I just had to escape from the reality I found myself in. After a year at Centro Veneto Progetti Donna, I managed to start a new life for myself and my children. Furthermore, knowing what a woman feels being in violent relationships, I decided to offer my support to combat the issue of violence against women and I am happy to provide a testimonial and be an activist for this cause.”