Combating Gender Based Violence Project in Azerbaijan

Combating Gender Based Violence Project in Azerbaijan is a 3-year initiative aimed to create an enabling environment for reducing gender based violence in thesociety in order to support protection of human rights, gender equality andwomen’s participation.

The purpose of the Training of Trainers being implemented by the Azerbaijan Future Studies Society (AFSS) was to create a pool of gender trainers fully equipped toconduct 2 days Target Group Education sessions for selected groups of the population on the subject of combating gender based violence in Azerbaijan.

In order toachieve this purpose the AFSS has undertaken the obligation to implement thefollowing activities in line with the contract # 2009/02 signed with the UnitedNations Population Fund (UNFPA):

Activity 1. To select 150 TOT participants through thetransparent and open selection process and ensure equal representation ofpublic sector (specifically school teachers), NGOs and experts among theparticipants

Activity 2. To ensure that TOT is fully based on TGE Manual developed by GBV Project

Activity 3. To provide full organizational and logisticalsupport for eight (8) TOT sessions (each session will last 5 days).

Activity 4. To provide final TOT evaluation

Project implementation timeline: March 15, 2009 – July 15,2009

The below report represents the narrative account of theactivities held during the period (March 15, 2009 – 01 June, 2009)

To provide full organizational and logistical support foreight (8) TOT sessions (each session will last 5 days).

In line with the TOR and the implementation work plan thetrainings held lasted 5 days for each group. 25 persons took part in a group.Trainings continued from 10:00 to 17:00. All participants completing the coursewere awarded with the certificates of completion.

The "Nur" hotel was chosen to serve as a trainingvenue.

Address of “Nur” hotel: 48 Aydin Mammadov str.

Three trainers were selected for conducting the TOTsessions. These trainers have successfully completed series of internationaland local trainings on gender; gender based violence as well as other relatedissues. They also have a proven record of conducting similar TOT sessions andworkshops. The training observations as well as the feedback received from theparticipants’ drives us to the conclusion that the trainers were competentenough to master the sessions, their attitude towards participants and theirefforts to build the program on the needs of the audience demonstrated theirprofessionalism in this respect. The trainers tried to thoroughly explain theways of eliminating violence towards women through various games, in additionto standard teaching practices. Given that the training lasted for a whole dayfrom 10 a.m. till 5 p.m., there were breaks to rest, which allowed freeexchange of opinions between the participants. At the training’s first day,participants were introducing themselves to each other and to the trainers toget acquainted closer. As previously reported, the training participantsrepresented public sector, NGOs and experts. Thus, there were representativesof the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Azerbaijan, State Committee forFamily, Women and Children Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, students ofseveral state universities, representatives of non-governmental organizations,etc.

Throughout the whole training session the participants wereprovided with an opportunity to express their views and opinions, propose newideas such as paying more attention to conducting the awareness raising campaignsin the regions, to attract more young people from rural areas to a such kind oftrainings, to put more emphasis on providing the guidelines on how to protectthe rights of women if an act of violence occurs. At the final 5th day of thetraining, all views and opinions were accumulated during the reflectivesession. When asked on their impressions about the training and the way it wasdelivered the participants told that in contrast to their beliefs prior to theTOT sessions they now consider the domestic violence to be a negative practicethat seriously violates the rights of the women and it should be definitelyprevented. Participants said that informal way of the conducting the trainingswere very productive and successful. The methods used during the training (forexample role playing games) facilitated the smooth and clear transfer of theinformation to them.

All training sessions have already been held. It should bementioned that despite the planned number of people per session, 15 people tookpart in the first one; the number of participants in the second trainingsession constituted 25, 27 people in the third training, 22 people in thefourth training, 24 people in the fifth and 37 people took part in the sixthtraining. All 6 trainings were successfully completed.

All TOT participants were awarded certificates.