BRIDGE –Building Relationships through Innovative Development of Gender Based Violence Awareness in Europe 

 

• See our infosheets for care professionals for more information on GBV against children and youth on the move and links to resources: Infosheet – Informyourself   Infosheet – sexual violence
• Also as part of the thematic package, created for BRIDGE project, see our infographics  summarizing the data collection in Malta: Infographic – Care Professionals   Infographic -Young migrants
• And our child-friendly awareness-raising posters in Arabic, English and French created with children’s designs: Every Child & Youth Has Rights   You Are NOT ALONE

 

The existing studies point to alarming accounts of gender based violence (GVB) affecting refugee and migrant children and youth in the European Union. Trafficking, sexual exploitation and abuse, and forced labour, are all part of the experiences of people on the move. At the same time, the considerable lack of data and professionals’ knowledge and coordination, on the one hand, and the low awareness amongst migrant children and youth themselves, on the other, make the issue of gender based violence difficult to tackle. 

In order to strengthen the statutory response to gender based violence affecting children and youth on the move in EU countries, Kopin, Terre des hommes Hungary and partners in Belgium, Greece and Romania are implementing the regional project entitled “Building Relationships through Innovative Development of Gender Based Violence Awareness in Europe –BRIDGE”.

This two-year project seeks to achieve the following specific objectives:

• To enhance availability of accurate data on GBV against children and youth on the move;
• To develop knowledge and capacities of care professionals to raise awareness, identify and address specific forms of GBV among children and youth on the move;
• To support and promote multi-agency collaboration and learning on GBV against children and youth on the move through regional community of practice;
• To empower children and youth on the move to build positive relationships, awareness and understanding of GBV and support them to report, prevent, mitigate and address it.

A combination of interconnected activities will be delivered:

• Development of data collection methodology and mobile data collection (MDC) tool;
• Data collection using MDC tool in project countries;
• Development of Training of Trainers curricula and holding of Training of Trainers;
• Awareness raising campaigns designed and implemented in each country, involving youth facilitators;
• Development of a regional community of practice through the Child Protection Hub.

 

The project is supported by the European Union’s Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme (2014-2020) and is carried out in five countries:

• Belgium (under the coordination of Defence for Children International – DCI Belgium and FEDASIL);
• Greece (under the coordination of ARSIS – Association for the Social Support of Youth);
• Hungary (under the coordination of Terre des hommes Regional Office for Europe as project lead);
• Malta (under the coordination of Kopin);
• Romania (under the coordination of Terre des hommes Romania).

You can find updates on the project and shared resources regarding GBV among children and youth on the move on the dedicated Childhub page.

The first newsletter of the project can be found here – see our news section for further newsletters.

 

You can watch the awareness-raising dance video produced for BRIDGE in Malta here