Empower Women 65+
Gender-based violence against elderly women is a field where either the civil society or the government have sufficiently interfered. The 1st Annual Report on Violence against Women (2020) does not even present data on older women. According to the UN (2017) only 1 in 24 cases of older women abuse is reported. Most of the cases remain hidden, even the extreme ones. One of the main reasons is that the vast majority of older women do not realize that they are victims of abuse, due to established patriarchal perceptions of the position and role of women, but also due to ignorance of different forms of violence and the rights of women regardless of age.
The project “Empower Women 65+” aims to educate older women on the different forms of violence and on ways to manage abuse incidents. The overall goal is to contribute in reducing the number of women who remain silent. A series of workshops will be held for 60 women over the age of 65, and educational material will be delivered that will remain freely accessible on People Behind’s website after the completion of the project. Also, a video with information on gender-based violence against the elderly will be created.
The participants will come both from the existing beneficiaries of the organization, who have already expressed the need for education on issues of gender-based violence, and from open calls to new beneficiaries.
This will be a pilot project for People Behind. According to the results and the feedback the organization will continue with larger-scale programs on violence against elderly women along with other organizations, filling a significant gap in the field.
Breaking down stereotypes and enhancing education in this age group is a long process that can fundamentally improve the life quality of older women.
