ACTED (Tajikistan)
Acted is a French NGO that aims to fight poverty, exclusion, and climate change guided by the goal of "Zero Exclusion, Zero Carbon, Zero Poverty.” In 2020 alone, the organisation supported 20 million beneficiaries in 38 countries through 507 sustainable and inclusive emergency development projects.
In 2022/2023, the Eurofins Foundation supported the Acted Project “Strengthening the capacity of civil society to protect women at risk and survivors of domestic violence in Central Asia - Focus on Tajikistan.”
In Tajikstan, at least one in three women experience domestic violence in their lifetime. Women and girls face multiple barriers when seeking help, due to a lack of legal and psycho-social support. The project aims to strengthen the capacity of key service providers to deliver comprehensive service packages, which include quality medical care, psychological and psychosocial support, legal aid, and a pathway to economic empowerment.
The project focuses on community development efforts, specifically gender equality and inclusion, as well as protection. The organisation has a multi-level, comprehensive approach, which begins with empowering communities and shifting the population's perceptions about gender equality. Mid-level activities include developing the capacity of civil society organisations within the context of the proposed project. On a macro level, Acted operates in cooperation with local policymakers and local authorities. This comprehensive approach is essential to building strong and resilient communities.
The Eurofins Foundation supported the design and delivery of a two-day training session in each of the 6 target districts between the 8th and the 23rd of December 2023 to staff members of Resource and Information Consultation Centres (public-run offices delivering consultation services to Gender-Based Violence (GBV) survivors), members of district level Interagency Working Group on Combating Sexual and GBV, members of the Technical Working Groups for the development of District Development Plans–including public officials from local branches of the Committee on Women and Family Affairs, the Departments of Health, Education, and Social Protection, village (Jamoat) representatives, as well as Civil Society Organisations (CSO) representatives.
The training subsequently catalysed momentum among both governmental and non-governmental actors for the strengthening of the provision of comprehensive services to women at risk or survivors of GBV, including through supporting CSO-run shelters and transit houses. Specifically, the training kick-started strategic discussions within the Interagency Working Group in each district for the integration of specific measures to address GBV and to strengthen the provision of services to survivors within District Development Plans, which will be submitted to local representative assemblies in each district for adoption.
The Eurofins Foundation’s grant also enabled Acted to engage with 6 active CSOs providing frontline services to GBV survivors and support the development of their organisational and financial capacity and the consolidation of their service standards.
This project contributes to the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
