Our Approach
We approach our work through four key strategic focuses:
Awareness
We raise the consciousness, recognition and appreciation for the injustices systemically committed against women and extend a call to action for change.
Advocacy
We work to transform the attitudes towards girls and women that perpetuate violence against them, because we understand that without change to the core values and beliefs that shape those attitudes, possibility for real change is limited. We advocate for progress in policy and practice on a government, community, and individual level--seeking not just understanding, but action also. We speak up for the voiceless and empower women so that they have the confidence and skills to make decisions that impact their lives and families.
Access
We provide access to education, life-skills development, and empowerment opportunities because freedom from violence and oppression does not happen without them. We bring these resources to the forefront of women’s lives, opening the door to a healthy identity, appropriate interpersonal relationships, and a life of independence--free from the fear of violence and oppression.
Aftercare
We rescue and offer safe haven to women who experience gender-based violence in its most extreme forms, including the practice of forced marriage, intimate partner violence, female genital mutilation, ‘honor’ violence/killings or trafficking. In conflict zones, these forms of violence significantly increase, and they are often culturally and religiously sanctioned. We offer a place for women who have nowhere else to go and no one else to turn to by providing vital, holistic care to deal with trauma. We are developing the only holistic residential care facility in all of Iraq for those impacted by gender-based violence, and we are committed to ensuring that no woman’s life is lost to gender-based violence.