Gender equality as a strategy to address the needs of beneficiaries for 8 organizations in Cahul and Ungheni

From May to August 2022, eight local organizations from Cahul and Ungheni districts, partners in the project "Zero Tolerance to Domestic Violence in Cahul and Ungheni Regions", benefited from a training program consisting of 5 modules on gender equality. The program aimed to train organizations on gender equality issues, to better address the diverse needs of beneficiaries and to integrate gender equality values in the life of the organization. 

The trainings were delivered by experts from A.L.E.G. in Romania, who have extensive experience in combating and preventing violence against women and promoting gender equality. 

Topics discussed in the 5 modules included: 

• What gender equality is and is not. 
• Gender inequality and violence against women. 
• The benefits of gender equality and the interconnections with various sectors of activity. 
• Gender equality in organisational life. 
• How we communicate about gender equality. 
• Men's participation. 

During the training, participants had the opportunity to practice on several gender-sensitive examples through practical activities. A repeated conclusion of the participants was that this topic comes up often in their work and needs to be addressed to respond more effectively to the needs of the beneficiaries. 

Natalia Lupu, representative of the "Ecou" organization in Cahul, says that during the 5 modules she realized how important it is to know how to identify the needs of beneficiaries, including from a gender perspective. "Until these trainings we only knew some notions about gender equality, now we also know how to approach them in favour of our beneficiaries. Likewise, we learned how to package human stories beautifully for better communication and to inspire others through what we do." 

"It is important when working in the social, educational or any civic initiative to take into account gender inequalities and the different contexts and needs that our beneficiaries come with according to gender. For example, for a woman trying to complete her education, we will have to consider her family's expectations of her and of her and provide a different kind of support that we would provide to a man. When we assist refugees, we must act with the higher risks of violence against women in mind, but also against people who do not fit our stereotypes," says Camelia Proca, A.L.E.G. director. She noted that the training program run by A.L.E.G. was designed to provide the knowledge and skills necessary for participating organizations to integrate gender equality into their daily work and attitudes as activists. "The impact of an NGO in the community can be affected by team bias. By having training in this area, participants will be able to build more diversity-sensitive teams and projects that will be even more effective in combating social inequalities," emphasized Camelia Proca. 

Next steps, each of the organisations will benefit from individual coaching sessions with A.L.E.G. experts, where they will focus on the gender component both in the work of the organisation and in the projects they implement. 

The project "Zero Tolerance to Domestic Violence in Cahul and Ungheni Regions" is implemented by Terre des hommes Moldova, from August 2021 to November 2022, with the financial support provided under the Project "EVA - Promoting Gender Equality in Cahul and Ungheni Districts", funded by the European Union and implemented by UN Women in partnership with UNICEF Moldova, under the Cooperation Agreement with UN Women.