Empower- Reduce domestic violence within youth

Domestic violence represents one of the biggest problems in the evolution of today’s society. In 2017, #metoo movement had a worldwide impact on the topic of sexual abuse, with more and more young girls and young women sharing their experiences. Although 2017 was marked by this hashtag, the phenomenon of domestic violence is present in daily life of women all across Europe in multiple forms: physical, emotional, financial or sexual. Giving the latest reports on domestic violence, at a European level, 33% of women have experienced physical violence, while 11 % had been victim of sexual abuse, but there is a lack of comparable data due to differences in the national legislation and the lack of reporting the abuse (European Parliament, 2016). Considering geographical differences, as well as cultural and religious differences, it is hard to have a clear view of the statistics worldwide, but monitoring the latest reports at a national level, as well as the movements that fight against domestic violence of any sort, EMPOWER project aims at supporting practitioners in the field of youth and social services to gain competences to recognize, act efficiently and prevent domestic violence amongst girls and women.
The objectives of the project are:
• To develop the competences in recognising signs of domestic violence of any sorts (physical, emotional, financial) at women and girls;
• To exchange good practices in the field of intervention in case of domestic violence between partner countries;
• To develop packages with information for victims and youth workers, offering an opportunity to include the results of the project in the future education and trainings of practitioners in the field;

The active target group of the project is represented by practitioners in the field of youth, education and social services, such as social workers, case managers, jurists, lawyers, nurses, educators, pedagogues, teachers, professors, youth workers and other national and European stakeholders, public and private institutions, politicians, EU networks. These experts will assure the sustainability of the project, by working directly with the main beneficiaries of the project, young women victims of any forms of domestic violence.