Tripoli – As part of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign, IOM, the UN Migration Agency, is organizing activities in the east, south and west of Libya. This year’s campaign falls under the overarching theme of Leave No One Behind: End Violence against Women and Girls, which is in accordance with a core principle of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The events started on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and will continue till 10 December, Human Rights Day, and include workshops, debates and exhibitions in Sabha, Benghazi, Misratah, Tripoli and Zwara.

“This has been an opportunity to raise awareness of violence against women and girls and we are particularly pleased to have been able to organize events across Libya, from the east, and south, to the west of the country,” said Karolina Edsbacker, IOM Libya Programme Manager.

Quiz competitions on the topic of gender-based violence were held in the city squares of Zwarah and Misratah by the Psychological Support Team. The events in both cities were followed by an art exhibition featuring paintings and drawings that participants produced to express their points of view on gender-based violence.

In the east of Libya, in Benghazi, IOM in partnership with the Libyan Health Organization (LHO) held a workshop for young leaders from 15 local NGOs/CSOs. The aim of the workshop was to develop the capacities of local leaders to encourage girls to report on gender-based violence, increase and spread awareness about their rights and challenges they may face because of their gender, as well as discussing recommendations on ways to combat and overcome those challenges.

At the same time, in the southern city of Sabha, university students from the Literature University gathered for a workshop with interactive games and competitions facilitated by Y PEER Libya.

On 6 December, in Tripoli’s Martyrs Square, the Joussour Center for Studies and Development organized a children’s play day centered around the topic of violence against women and children. Curious passers-by also stopped by to discuss and receive more information on the topic. In cooperation with Joussour, IOM also executed two public events, one at the University of Tripoli and one at Nasser’s University. The students discussed the definition of “gender-based violence” and expressed an interest in receiving more information on how they could partake in awareness raising.

Awareness raising is an important element of IOM’s short- and long-term protection strategy. IOM has previously rolled out awareness campaigns shedding light on topics such as human trafficking, which reached more than 38,000 individuals in Tripoli, Benghazi, Misratah and Azzawiyah.

This campaign is made possible by donations from the Regional Development and Protection Project (RDPP) for Tripoli and Benghazi; RDPP for North Africa, Development Pillar, funded by the European Union and the US State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) for Sabha, Misrata and Zwara.

For more information, please contact IOM Libya: Christine Petre, Tel: +216 29 240 448, Email: chpetre@iom.int or

Karolina Edsbacker, Tel: +216 29 202 896, Email: kedsbacker@iom.int

For more information, please contact IOM Libya: Christine Petre, Tel: +216 29 240 448, Email: chpetre@iom.int or
Karolina Edsbacker, Tel: +216 29 202 896, Email: kedsbacker@iom.int