The project "Prevention and Support for Cyber Gender Based Violence" will have two main target groups. The first target group includes youth in the 18-29 age group, as younger women are more active on the internet and therefore more exposed to cyber harassment, with that particular age group being the highest risk one (FRA, 2014). It will offer training courses in order for the victims to be able to protect themselves effectively online, strengthen the awareness and capacity of women advocates, educators, and Internet users to identify and report violence facilitated online and by other forms of ICTs, as well as provide tips, tools and resources on how to identify, document and report on-line harassment and other forms of ICT facilitated violence against women and girls. A best practices mapping will also contribute to that goal.

The second target group includes the youth workers and professionals of victim support and social care services, through the creation of a training curriculum. They will be able to utilize the training material and the methodology created through the project in order to recognize, effectively support and guide the victims to legal services if needed.

For more information, please visit the project's website.

Project Results

Young people, especially those in vulnerable situations, are active online but often lack the digital skills to protect their data and identity, and the awareness to recognise cyber gender-based violence and how it links to other forms of GBV. In response, the project developed three results:

Digital Handbook on Cyber Gender-Based Violence for Young People: A practical, illustrated guide for young people. It explains what cyber GBV is and the forms it takes, the skills needed to stay safe online, what to do when it happens, real-life examples, and how to respond and report.
[Download the Handbook (PDF)]

Training Curriculum for Youth Workers and Victim Support Services: Innovative, transferable training modules that equip youth workers and victim support professionals to respond to the specific needs of victims of cyber GBV. There was no shared methodology for this before, and the modules build on a needs analysis of the main knowledge gaps in victim support services.
[Download the Training Curriculum (PDF)]

Final Research Report: Sets out the project’s results, its effect on organisational practice and how effective it was overall. It draws on data from across the project’s activities to give an up-to-date picture of cyber GBV and of the young people and professionals involved.
[Download the Research Report]

Disclaimer: This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained here.