Donor: Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)

Project duration: November 2020 – January 2024

Partner organizations: medica mondiale (Germany), medica Zenica, Vive Žene (Bosnia and Hercegovina), medica Gjakova, Kosova Rehabilitation Centre for Torture Victims (Kosovo), Youth Initiative for Human Rights, Women in Black (Serbia)

Project goal: Creating a culture of recognition and reconciliation in the Western Balkans for women survivors of war related SGBV to live in dignity and free from violence

Outcomes of the project:

1. The topic of war related SGBV is reflected in political debates and curricula
2. Improved laws and procedures for compensation mechanisms
3. Improved court procedures
4. Likeminded feminist women's organisations are recognised as experts in political national and regional reconciliation processes

Donor: The Balkan Trust for Democracy

Project duration: July 2020 – Juy 2021

Project goal: Protection of women survivors of violence through their empowerment and improved accessibility of support services during and in the period of recovery of COVID pandemic

Basic information about the project and main activities:

Project is aimed to provide support services to women survivors of violence from Kosovo and Serbia, which include providing free legal aid, support in exercising women’s financial and social rights, self-help group sessions, financial support in order to help them cover necessary administrative and court’s expenses and providing emergency aid to women accommodated at Kosovo shelters.

One of the main activities of the project is the development of standards for providing services during and after the covid19 pandemic that caused a shift towards services being offered remotely and via internet platforms.

Online support protocols will also be developed with a particular focus on protecting physical and digital security of women who survived violence. The developed platforms and standards will be shared with and distributed to women’s CSOs in Kosovo, Serbia and the Balkan region, that also provide direct support for women who survived violence. The aim is to improve these organisations' capacities and the quality of support services provided remotely and online.

Donors: Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands.

Project name: Effective policies and unified practice in support and protection of domestic violence survivors.

Project duration: Jul 2020 – Jul 2022.

Project goal: The aim of the project proposal is to contribute to the full implementation of the legal framework and improved institutional practice related to protection of domestic violence survivors.

Project objectives: clearly formulated proposals for improvement of the Law on Prevention of Domestic Violence and other laws aimed at protection of DV through monitoring their implementation and identifying gaps; increased readiness of decision makers to review and adopt necessary changes; increased knowledge and understanding of 300 professionals on adequate response on the needs of survivors of violence; increasing effectiveness of 150 professionals in protection of DV victims in individual cases.

Basic information about the project: the project aims to provide comprehensive response to problems recognised during the implementation of the Law on Prevention of Domestic Violence. Mapping the gaps and challenges in implementation will lead to consultations with experts in the field and deliverance of recommendations for relevant decision makers. Beside policy level, activities consider support to practitioners in charge for implementation of the law. Guidelines and training will be developed and delivered to professionals. First and last instance are beneficiaries (women and their children, victims of violence) who are most relevant to point on the problems in implementation of the law and to whom support will be provided while addressing institutions, to secure their safety and security, rights and needs.

Donor: Swiss Confederation, Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs – Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation

Project name: I can choose to say no - Empowering youth to stand up against cyber sexual and gender-based violence

Project duration: May 2020 – February 2021

Objective: The overall goal is to contribute to ending cyber sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in youth intimate partner relationships, by especially empowering girls and supporting them to stand up to violence. 

Main information about the project and envisaged activities:

The project will involve primarily youth (15-19), but also teachers, psychologists, pedagogues, parents and the wider local community. Also, through the project implementation AWC will further improve its capacities to deal with the topic of cyber sexual and gender-based violence against women and girls.

The project activities envisage peer education and training, guidebooks for youth and teachers, psychosocial support to young women victims of violence through SOS line and an awareness raising campaign. These activities specifically deal with gender-based violence in partner relationships, focusing on how technology accelerates patterns of controlling and abusive behavior specifically in partner relationships. Awareness-raising activities explore self-defense strategies, as well as strategies and online tools for expressing unacceptability of cyber SGBV, while providing support to those exposed to such violence.   

Duration of the project: 36 months

The Project is funded by: Austrian Development Agency

Partner organizations in this project are the Albanian Women’s Empowerment Network and Gender Alliance for Development Centre (Albania), Kosovo Women’s Network (Kosovo), United Women Banja Luka (Bosnia and Herzegovina), National Network against Violence against Women (North Macedonia), Women’s Rights Centre (Montenegro).

The main goal of this project is to contribute to the improvement of the secondary legislation/programs and institutionalization of quality support services (rehabilitation and integration) for survivors of GBV.

Expected results:

1. Women supported in leaving violent environments and becoming more autonomous.
2. Quality evidence-based proposals for secondary legislation and programs for assisting survivors put forth.
3. Improved skills of service providers towards increased safety/security of survivors.
4. Strengthened and formalised regional network for addressing violence against women in line with EU standards.

To achieve these objectives and results following main groups of activities are planned:

• Providing support services (psychosocial and legal support).
• Submitting proposals for the improvement of secondary legislation and programs for assisting survivors to responsible parties.
• Providing education for service providers (institutions and NGOs).
• Strengthening regional network for addressing violence against women.

Target group – women and their children survivors of GBV, professionals from relevant institutions and CSOs in the Western Balkan.

Activities and results of the Project will contribute to the full implementation of the Istanbul Convention (Chapter 4 – Protection and Support) in each country. The partners will use the outputs of the previous regional project Coordinated efforts – Toward new European standards in protection of women from gender-based violence to further monitor the implementation of the Istanbul Convention. Established indicators for monitoring of the provision of the Istanbul Convention will be updated and used to measure progress towards full implementation of the Convention in the region.

Donor: European Union - Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme

Project duration: August 2019 – July 2021

Objective: Contribute to ending cyber sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in youth (aged 15-19) intimate partner relationships, by especially empowering girls and supporting them to stand up to violence.

Main information about the project and envisaged activities:

This project is implemented in four countries (Croatia, Hungary, Serbia and Spain) and is coordinated by the Autonomous Women’s Center from Belgrade, while the implementing partners are „Fundacion Privada INDERA“ from Spain, „CESI – Centar za edukaciju, savjetovanje i istraživanje” from Croatia and  „Nők A Nőkért Együtt Az Erőszak Ellen Egyesület (NANE)” from Hungary.

Project activities include: 1) Collection of evidence on awareness of secondary school youth and teachers, on their attitudes/strategies to address cyber SGBV in youth partner relationships; 2) Building project partners’ capacities to better address cyber SGBV; 3) Education and encouragement of youth to stand up to SGBV; 4) Raising awareness of secondary school teachers on cyber SGBV and providing them with tools to address attitudes that encourage violence; 5) Facilitating mobilization of youth on the topic of cyber SGBV, focusing on empowerment of girls to stand up to cyber SGBV.

Donor:  Kvinna till Kvinna

 Project duration: January 2019 – December 2020

Project goal: Contribute to the establishment of comprehensive legal and policy solutions for the protection of women against violence, as conditions for the realisation of democracy, fundamental rights and women’s human rights, through the process of harmonisation with the EU values and acquis. Specific goal: Increased prioritization of women’s human rights by governments in the EU accession process through participation of women’s organisations.

General information about the project: Activities include 1) Monitoring reforms under Chapter 23 (fundamental rights: principle of non-discrimination, gender equality, social position of vulnerable groups and procedural safeguards) by AWC in partnership with the prEUgovor coalition. 2) Regular policy proposals and law amendments based on monitoring the implementation of the CoE Convention and UN Concluding observations by AWC, through policy dialogue between decision-makers, with active participation of media and citizens. 3) Strengthening capacities of AWC and women’s organisations for the increased participation in advocating for the rights of women in the national policy and laws, and for participation in the EU accession process.

Donors: OAK Foundation

Project name: Core support

Project duration: April 2018 – April 2021

Project objectives: empowering women for ending violence and recovery from violence trauma through available, sustainable and improved psychosocial and legal services of AWC; policies to combat violence against women at the national and local levels are in line with international standards (UN, CoE and EU); affirming women’s rights through empowered women’s movement, new alliances, improved visibility and understanding of violence against women issues in media and general public; empowered organizational capacities.

Basic information about the project: by 2021, the Autonomous Women’s Center works on direct support to women victims of violence, spreading women’s support and solidarity and advocates and monitors the adoption, promotion and consistent application of relevant national policies and instruments in the area of violence against women, which are comprehensive, relevant, specific, effective and efficient. At the same time, the Autonomous Women's Center is devoted to the survival of public and activist’s spaces of resistance to nationalism, patriarchy and authoritarian governing.