It is today! To mark the launch of 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, we’re calling on you to join our # Orange the World: END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN NOW movement.

Addressing gender inequality and supporting women’s empowerment are essential for development. outlined explicitly under the sustainable development goal (SDG) 5. Therefore, commitment to gender equality must be reflected across all sectors of development as it increases programmatic impact and ensures the sustainability of outcomes. 

Word Vision international in Georgia has been committed to gender equality while realizing its strategy for sustained child wellbeing. As a child-focused organization, World Vision recognizes the link between women’s empowerment, gender equality, and improved child wellbeing outcomes. A recent study conducted by World Vision MEER demonstrates that women’s empowerment is directly linked to the wellbeing of children across all dimensions such as health, nutrition, physical health, mental health, education, psycho-social and economic wellbeing.

Therefore, Gender Equality and Social Inclusion considerations have been mainstreamed across all programs carried out by World Vision in Georgia, through integrating GESI into program design, implementation, and monitoring phases. 

World Vision Georgia works to improve the lives of the most vulnerable boys and girls, men and women in target regions through core strategic directions: Child Protection and Social Services Development, Youth Empowerment Programmes, and Early Childhood Development through community engagement and participation. Currently, World Vision works in 3 regions of Georgia (Samtskhe-Javakheti, Imereti, and Kakheti) and Tbilisi and implements long-term programs aimed at improved child welfare through systemic and systematic interventions with internal sponsorship funds. In addition, WVG works across all regions of Georgia via donor grants.

Gender analyses are conducted to inform projects design, leading to the following gender-sensitive and gender-transformative activities, carried out by WVG:

• Capacity building of girls and boys using WV developed modules targeting life skills improvement;
• Capacity building of girls and boys, men and women on GBV prevention and referral;
• Capacity building of parental clubs in target communities in advocacy, project design and management, and gender equality;
• Working with local governments and donor organizations to establish and enhance kindergartens at the community level, serving multiple purposes: improved wellbeing of children, the opportunity for women’s employment at the community level, space for mothers to redistribute the burden of care;
• Women’s economic empowerment through the intentional engagement of female-headed households in the Ultra Poor Graduation project model 

This year, World Vision in Georgia commits to implement Gender-transformative activities that entail deliberate actions to girls’ and women’s empowerment across all sectors, as the way to prevent and reduce gender-based violence, overcome socio-economic adversity and ultimately impact the wellbeing of the most vulnerable children at the community and systems levels. 

By joining the 16 days’ campaign against gender-based violence, World Vision in Georgia declares its commitment and readiness to invest even more in addressing gender inequality and to engage with its strategic partners at all levels for maximizing impact across Georgia and all relevant sectors.