Bishkek, 12 January 2022 - On 11-12 January 2022 the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative together with Association "Center for Gender Information" conducted a training for KyWRAW network on "Harassment in the Workplace as a Specific Form of Violence".

The event aimed to unite the efforts of the women's movement to inform the general public about the negative consequences of violence and harassment in the workplace and the need to regulate these issues at the legislative level.

"The topic of gender violence is a key one for the Spotlight Initiative. In doing so, it is very important that the focus is not only on domestic violence, but also on other forms of violence that are not as well publicized in our public space. The members of the network already have the capacity and experience to use public pressure for various advocacy purposes. We will also have a resource platform where they can hone these advocacy and lobbying interventions. We hope that the information sessions that they have planned in the training will be held in educational, the health sector, among journalists and law enforcement agencies, as these are the structures should be the first to respond and react to facts of sexual harassment, "- said the trainer Anara Niyazova.

As part of the two-day training, 40 members of the KyWRAW network from different regions of Kyrgyzstan improved their knowledge on the issue of harassment, including the draft law on combating violence and harassment in the workplace. As a result of the training, participants developed a unified action plan to inform the public about the problem of harassment and signed Memoranda of Cooperation.

"We gained tremendous knowledge today in the theoretical part. Now we have to integrate this theory into our planned events and into the activities of our organization. We, as members of the KyWRAW network, thanks to the training, now see more clearly our role, where we should start, how we should do it and how to further counteract workplace harassment. It will not be enough to change only the legislation, it is necessary to work with the population, which must recognize the problem of harassment and find ways to solve it," shared training participant Avazkan Ormonova, head of the PF "DIA".

For reference:

KyWRAW network (Network of civil sector organizations monitoring women's rights in the Kyrgyz Republic) was established in 2011 with the aim of monitoring and promoting the political and economic rights of women in the Kyrgyz Republic. The network includes human rights non-governmental organizations throughout Kyrgyzstan.

About the joint EU-UN "Spotlight" initiative

In January 2020, in partnership with the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic, the EU and the UN launched a multi-year country program under the global Spotlight Initiative (Spotlight Initiative) to eradicate all forms of violence against women and girls. The goal of the program is to create an environment in which all women and girls in Kyrgyzstan, especially the most vulnerable, live free of violence and harmful practices, including child marriage and abduction with the purpose of the forced marriage. The program includes a set of integrated policies and legislation, institutional strengthening, violence prevention, services for survivors of violence, quality data collection, and support for the women's movement and civil society. The program is implemented by five UN agencies (UN Women, UNFPA, UNDP, UNICEF and UNODC) under the overall guidance of the UN Resident Coordinator in the Kyrgyz Republic.

Contacts for media

Ainagul Abdrakhmanova

UNDP Communications Manager

ainagul.abdrakhmanova@undp.org

+996770 755 776