POWER

POWER. Organizations' empoWErment to guarantee women's human rights and stop gender violence

POWER is a project that aims to contribute to, support and build the capacity of civil society organizations that are active at local, regional, national and European levels in the fight against gender-based violence.

Context

Spain grants the Autonomous Communities the authority to legislate on gender-based violence (GBV), guaranteeing rights at least equal to national laws. Catalonia’s progressive approach includes comprehensive laws and more than 150 public services since 2008.

Despite progress, gender-based violence statistics in Spain remain alarming, with 66 victims of gender-based violence per 10,000 women in 2021. Spanish courts received 162,848 reports of gender-based violence, an 8% increase over the previous year. Unreported cases, estimated at double the number of reported cases, underscore the urgent need for continued efforts across the country to combat gender-based violence.

In Spain, social organizations play a crucial role in supporting victims and advocating for policy improvements. However, there is concern about the decreasing presence of women’s NGOs in political and public procurement processes, which affects their ability to contribute effectively. They identify the need for mental health support for those working with survivors of gender-based violence.

In Greece, services are predominantly concentrated in urban areas, leaving rural and remote populations underserved. Many social organizations lack experience and capacity to adequately support victims, indicating the need for more systematic measures and holistic approaches.

Italian organizations are struggling with insufficient resources, long delays in funding and limited advocacy opportunities.

General goal:

The POWER project aims to contribute, support and develop the capacity of civil society organizations active at local, regional, national and European level in the fight against gender-based violence, thus contributing to the full guarantee of women’s rights, to the equal empowerment of women and men, in all their diversity.

POWER also aims to improve the impact of Italian, Spanish and Greek NGOs in the fight against gender-based violence, promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment at local, regional, national and European level.

Specific goals:

To improve the impact of Italian, Spanish and Greek social entities addressing the fight against gender-based violence.
To achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment at local, regional, national and European level, encompassing legal frameworks and support services.
Strengthen networks and knowledge exchange between organizations working on the prevention of gender-based violence at national and European level.
Increase funding, with the aim of achieving better coordination among service providers and sustained advocacy efforts.

Results and main activities

Result 1: To promote the competencies of third social sector organizations that fight against gender-based violence to access financing mechanisms from European funds.

The related actions will be the distribution of 345,000 euros among 15 entities in Spain. Grants will range from 30,000 to 15,000 euros per project.

Call 1 – Services for victims or potential victims of gender-based violence (psychological support, trauma-informed services, health care…)
Call 2 – Multi-stakeholder coordination and capacity building on gender-based violence of professionals involved in victim support (training, events, mutual learning activities…)
Call 3 – Actions to promote public awareness, especially among young people, at local and national level through flashmobs, seminars, artistic performances, festivals and campaigns.
Call 4 – Research and advocacy actions to improve knowledge and influence decision-making and improve laws (following the Istanbul Convention).

Result 2: Increase opportunities for social third sector organizations at local, regional and national level in 3 European countries.

The related activities are:

Mentoring service and assistance to NGOs
Follow-up of approved projects
National online training
Exchange visits of national and EU networks

Result 3: To strengthen networking and exchange spaces between third social sector organizations in Italy, Spain and Greece.

The related activities are:

European online and face-to-face meetings between organizations
Joint communication campaign of the project
Final event

Impact

At the European level, the target group supported through the project will consist of 45 NGOs [15 per territory] dealing with the fight against gender-based violence in 3 EU countries (Italy, Spain and Greece). These will be the main actors of the project through financial support and training and exchange activities:

45 NGOs will receive financial support
60 professionals of these organizations will receive training on European outreach
750 people will benefit from the services provided by the selected projects
270 professionals/interested people will receive information/training
45 institutions will be involved throughout Europe.

The POWER project, funded by the CERV program from the European Comission, will be implemented from february 2024 to january 2027.

POWER

POWER is a project that aims to contribute to support and develop the capacity of civil society organizations active at local, regional, national and European level in the fight against gender-based violence, thus promoting the full guarantee of women’s rights and equality between women and men, in all their diversity.