Violence against women and girls is often the result of the breakdown of community structures and the trauma created by displacement. This kind of violence can be even more challenging for populations affected by armed conflict and humanitarian emergencies. Protection is the term we use to include all of the services we provide to prevent violence – and the support we offer when violence does occur.
Preventing and Responding
Prevention is just one step in the process of combatting gender-based violence, but it’s a step where we can involve the entire community in creating solutions. Through building community awareness and strengthening women’s own leadership and capacity to help others, we can make a big impact in reducing violence. Men can also make a huge difference in changing attitudes, so we engage men and boys to help them better understand the effects of violence and to give them the tools to speak up. We believe that we are strongest when working alongside communities, ensuring that at-risk groups have the resources they need to feel empowered and protected.
We help women, girls and other victims of violence access the critical health care they need and we offer psycho-social counseling to help them deal with and recover from the trauma they experienced. Part of healing can be getting justice for the crimes committed against you, so, when possible, we help women with legal assistance. Pursuing new economic opportunities can also be critical in helping survivors of violence heal and grow, and economic independence can help prevent future abuse. We provide skills training and support for survivors to create a livelihood of their own.
Alight currently assists survivors of GBV and works to prevent acts of gender-based violence in: