CyberSafeGirls project: ensuring the digital safety of Ukrainian girls
The project is funded by the Human Rights Fund of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ukraine.
Project duration: from 1 July 2024, 30 months in total
Project objective: to promote gender equality by implementing innovative approaches to prevent online sexual violence against adolescent girls affected by the conflict in Ukraine, focusing on Kyiv, Kharkiv and Vinnytsia regions.
Project Description.
The proposed project ensures gender equality of Ukrainian adolescents (boys and girls) with a focus on the prevention of online sexual abuse of adolescent girls (13-17 years old), education and awareness raising of child protection and professional staff, parents and caregivers. The project will use the developed and adapted Cybersafe Toolkit and online tools to reach and educate girls, as well as through a special tool for guardians and parents on early support and prevention.
The project plans to train local stakeholders and inform professionals, parents and guardians in the three target oblasts (Kyiv, Vinnytsia and Kharkiv) about the types, methods and tools for preventing online violence against girls.
Main objectives of the project
— Strengthening the capacity of local and national stakeholders (teachers, social workers, psychologists, youth workers, police officers, etc.) to prevent online sexual violence against girls in the three targeted oblasts of the project.
— Supporting girls who have experienced online sexual violence through counselling and peer support (focusing on the most vulnerable IDP girls who have been affected by war, persecution or discrimination). This activity will be implemented in partnership with the NGO Teenargizer.
— Conducting awareness-raising campaigns and supporting local initiatives through a small grants scheme in the three target areas.
— Promote project materials and impact stories to local and national partners and other stakeholders.
The project will conduct cybersecurity workshops aimed at preventing online sexual violence against girls and develop a set of guidelines for adults (parents, guardians, foster parents, adoptive parents, child rights professionals) to be able to reach adolescent girls with short messages, prevention, support and early interventions. The workshop will be conducted for the three target oblasts using the developed materials and curriculum. Recorded workshops will be available online during and after the project.
The project will work to raise awareness, educate, counsel and support adolescent girls in all childcare facilities, youth camps, sports and youth clubs, schools, shelters and social media groups by introducing modern models of preventing sexual violence online, promoting safe and healthy relationships.
The project will provide three (3) small grants to local NGOs in the target regions to enable them to provide information and counselling to adolescents, peer support or training to girls who have experienced online sexual violence and are seeking such support. The grants will also aim to engage boys and adults in online and offline education.
The project will ensure high visibility and disseminate the developed tools and collected best practices to national stakeholders to ensure the exchange of experiences, further expansion and replication of the project.