Press release

Syria. UPP and Soka Gakkai alongside women and minors against violence
The second phase of the "Our Protected Home" project in North East Syria, aimed at women and minors survivors of violence in Raqqa, has been completed. Thanks to the support of the Italian Buddhist Institute Soka Gakkai it has been possible to assist 4,449 people.

Raqqa, March 13, 2023 - The project "Darna al Aman" ("Our Protected Home"), designed to combat gender-based violence, ensure continuity in life-saving services and guarantee protection for minors, launched in the summer of 2022 and made possible by the support of Otto per mille funds from the Italian Buddhist Institute Soka Gakkai (IBISG), has come to an end. The intervention, implemented by the Italian NGO Un Ponte Per (UPP) and its local partner DOZ, reached 4,449 women and minors in Raqqa, Syria, the former capital of the Islamic State in the country.

The project activities took place in 3 Safe Spaces for women, minors and adolescents opened by Un Ponte Per and DOZ that were at risk of imminent closure due to reduced availability of funds for protection interventions in the area.

Here, women, minors and adolescents have safe and discreet access to protection services and are welcomed on a daily basis by staff specialised in psycho-social support, handling cases of gender-based violence and protecting minors from abuse and exploitation. Through training courses, awareness-raising meetings, workshops and recreational activities, adolescents, minors and women from the Raqqa community, including those who have survived or are at risk of violence, have the opportunity to meet and be supported in total safety. In order to reach the Spaces, a safe transport service has also been ensured for those most at risk and most vulnerable, including from an economic point of view.

In a context like Raqqa, tried by years of conflict, the levels of violence within families themselves are still very high. Protection services, on the other hand, are few, as is the possibility for staff to receive adequate training.

During the course of the project, which started in the summer of 2022, the local staff working in the Safe Spaces have been trained on an ongoing basis; radio programmes have also been produced, broadcast by the local radio station 'Bissan FM', to spread awareness-raising messages to combat gender-based violence and violence against children, and a number of community activities have been carried out to mark World Children's Day, the International Campaign '16 Days of Activism against Violence against Women' and World Human Rights Day.

In 2023, thanks to the precious contribution of the Otto per mille funds of the Italian Buddhist Institute Soka Gakkai, UPP and DOZ will be able to keep the 3 Safe Spaces open, and to guarantee continuity to the support activities, expanding them and making the women welcomed more and more involved.