“PEER NETWORK”: A Community-Based Advocacy Program to contrast Gender Violence

Webinar with Maria Vargas Moniz, on the International Day of the Elimination of Violence against Women (November 25, 2021)

About the webinar

It is broadly acknowledged that over the past three decades, communities and countries have intensively worked to increase the capacity to respond to violence against women, yet many women still do not receive the services they prioritize and need to end the violence they are experiencing (Sullivan and Bybee, 1999; Cardoso and Ornelas, 2021). The webinar addresses the conceptualization of Community-Based Advocacy and System-Based Advocacy through the experience of the project titled PEER NETWORK: Gender Violence and Empowerment (EEAGRANTS), being held in Portugal, with transnational partners and consultants in Iceland, and the USA. We are developing an innovative pilot-intervention to promote civic empowerment and engagement of women who are or have been targeted by gender-based violence, domestic violence, discrimination and harassment. Due to the COVID 19 Pandemics, the project has been launched with regular online meetings from all the national Portuguese territory, including women who are migrants, and from rural areas. The project is focused also on awareness actions for: 1) the younger generations, 2) future health professionals, and 3) professionals working on organizations for women who have been affected by gendered violence and discrimination. The challenge of building a network of activists including self-representants. The peer network is focused on survivors supported by professionals bringing about the need for a whole series of renovated professional and personal competencies to support and intervene in the field. Based on the work developed by the Peer Network four main topics have emerged aimed at discussing the policy and practice in the field of gendered violence and discrimination, that are: a) The Experiential Knowledge and Expertise of the Survivors, b) System’s Effectiveness, c) Services Articulation and d) Violence and Discrimination Prevention.

About the speaker

Doctor in Psychology, specialized in Community Psychology Research at the APPsyCI (Applied Psychology Research Center Capabilities and Inclusion)/ISPA – Instituto Universitário. Is the Executive Coordinator of the EEAGRANT-CIG Project “PEER-NETWORK: Gender Violence and Empowerment. Has research interests on women and homelessness and since the 90s is a member of a national PT Civic Organization Women’s Association Against Violence. Integrates the European Community Psychology Association Board (Past-President 2017-2019); integrates the PT National Strategy on Homelessness, and the European Observatory on Service Learning Higher Education.