Our Projects

Addressing gender-based violence (GBV) successfully is an important step toward achieving Millennium Development Goals in the areas of gender equality, infant and maternal health and mortality, and HIV/AIDS. Yet GBV remains one of the most widespread and socially accepted categories of human rights violations. Health professionals play a crucial role in identifying and supporting women who have experienced abuse and referring them to specialized services. Medical and nursing schools do not adequately prepare health professionals to recognize or respond to the health consequences of domestic violence, rape or sexual abuse; health providers often view violence against women as a individual problem and hesitate to discuss physical or sexual violence with patients. The overall aim of the project is to extend and improve the quality and efficiency of health services delivery towards victims of domestic violence through strengthening the capacity of health services, especially professionals of health care amenities such as family planning clinics or antenatal consultations, health centers, hospitals, and health posts to offer information on how to prevent occurrence of violence, as well as providing counseling, medical and referral support to victims of gender-based violence. Project which is still in implementing process has reached following results, so far: (i) has developed a training program and operational manual for health professionals, both training and manual provide a multidisciplinary approach of support including protocols for medical and psychological treatment; (ii) 142 professionals (health professionals, social workers and psychologists) act as trainers in 12 albanian regions; (iii) 4,400  health  workers in 12 regions of Albania have got advanced knowledge and skills to detect and then support GBV victims through multidisciplinary services. 

Presently the project continues with (i) capacity building of the students at the nursing faculty and (ii) development of the GBV curricula for the Faculty of Medicine and Nursing. At the end of the project an evaluation of the impact of the project on building health workers capacities to respond effectively to victims of domestic violence, will be conducted applying also a beneficiary satisfaction approach.