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LILA

The general objective of the project LILA is to design, implement, and evaluate a comprehensive and tailored support program aimed at women victims of gender-based violence (GBV) and their children, based on their individual needs and paying special attention to those having arisen from the Covid-19 social and economic crisis. Special focus will be given to migrant and refugee women and their children, and to victims of trafficking and sexual exploitation, as they are the most exposed group to the violation of their rights, to multiple forms of violence, and to the impacts of the Covid-19 crisis. In this line, LILA will target also minor victims of sex trafficking through the loverboy modus operandi (characterized by the use of emotional charm and deception within the framework of an alleged affective relationship with the exploiter).

The project will be implemented in four EU countries: Spain, Italy, Greece and Belgium.

The project, funded by the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (CERV), and coordinated by Asociación Bienestar y Desarrollo (ABD in Spanish), will be carried out from March 2022 to February 2024 in partnership with the organizations ACRA (IT), DIOTIMA (GR), PAYOKE (BE).

Needs Assessment

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, and especially during the long periods of emergency measures, many women and children have suffered increased domestic violence (as victims and/or witnesses). They have also been exposed to a heightened risk of online abuse and exploitation and to other forms of gender-based violence. Gender-based violence remains one of our societies’ biggest challenges and is deeply rooted in gender inequality. However, gender-based violence, in all its forms, remains under-reported and overlooked both inside and outside the EU. The Covid-19 pandemic has further highlighted existing gender inequalities and has had a disproportionately negative effect on women: EU Member States recorded a surge in domestic violence affecting women.

The Covid-19 pandemic has also been particularly tough on children, notably those already in a vulnerable situation (e.g. children in care, children with disabilities, children in poverty, children in migration).

For more information check out the Background of the Call document.

LILA project contributes to achieve the objectives of the call by supporting and assisting women directly affected by GBV and their children, taking the basis of the Istanbul Convention, EU strategy on the Rights of the Child, the Directive 2012/29/EU (Victims’ Rights Directive) and the EU Gender Equality Strategy.

Main Activities

Specific action/objectives to achieve the aim of the LILA project:

Psychosocial pilot for victims

Implement a pilot based on a comprehensive and tailored psychosocial intervention aimed at providing full support addressed to girls and women victims of GBV and their children.

Detect needs during Covid-19

Contribute to the detection of victims’ emerging needs in the Covid-19 context.

Tools for women’s resilience

Provide women with tools to increase their resilience, escape abusive relationships, (re)gain self-autonomy and prevent further violent relationships.

Economic independence through work

Strengthen survivor’s economic independence through training, job-searching support and empowerment.

Assess impact on wellbeing

Assess the impact of the pilot intervention in women’s wellbeing, competences and skills.

Raise awareness on GBV

Raise awareness among EU citizens of the existence of GBV.

Strengthened interinstitutional cooperation

Foster and strengthen multi-agency cooperation to increase capacity of stakeholders and relevant professionals to provide support to survivors.

The Impact of the LILA Project

After two years of implementation, the LILA project came to an end. Four pilots have been implemented in Spain, Italy, Greece, and Belgium, aimed at providing comprehensive support to over 100 women. LILA has not only contributed to improving the lives of the participants but has also established a framework for collaboration and learning among European countries in this field.

Final figures:

4 organizations from different European countries
4 national clusters bringing together more than 20 organizations and local administrations
103 women survivors of gender-based violence participating in the pilot
750 hours of individual and group support for the participating women
5 approach axes: training, psychological support, legal assistance, guidance and job insertion, community participation
390 professionals trained with the LILA Program
16 hours of specialized online training
2.681.923 citizens reached through the #ActNow communication campaign.
25 organizations, content creators, and activists joining the #ActNow campaign.

Research and project results

The project has had a significant research component, and the results can be found on the project’s website:

Desk Research: Service analysis and country scenarios on gender-based violence after Covid-19 in Spain, Belgium, Greece and Italy. The study seeks to explore service provision to survivors of gender-based violence (GBV). English version
Online transnational capacity building for professionals involved in the pilots’ implementation. Link to YouTube List.
Protocol: Guide to psychosocial intervention for girls and women affected by gender-based violence and their children. Link to the Protocol.
Evaluation Report – it will be published on the project’s website in March 2024
Catalogue containing the 4 LILA Pilots – it will be published on the project’s website in March 2024