Social Impact
WHO WE ARE
Action for Women is an Athens-based women’s rights organization with an all-female team and management that supports the recovery, resilience, and reintegration of refugees and asylum seekers.
OUR VISION
Action for Women is an Athens-based women’s rights organization with an all-female team and management that supports the recovery, resilience, and reintegration of refugees and asylum seekers.
One in five refugee women experiences sexual violence.
According to UNHCR, more than half of the 79.5 million people forcibly displaced are women and girls. One in five refugee women experiences gender-based violence. Lockdowns due to COVID-19 exacerbated the risk, triggering a so-called “shadow pandemic.” Domestic violence spiked as many women were trapped with their abusers, and economic insecurity exacerbated their risk of trafficking and sexual exploitation.
In Athens, there are few services for victims of gender-based violence, which are scattered throughout the city and often lack interpreters. Using these services without support often leads to re-traumatization. Dignified and safe housing remains scarce, and existing shelters lack comprehensive support to provide women with the skills, knowledge, and networks they need to earn an income and become independent. This can create a cycle of dependency in which residents are given a sense of temporary security without being empowered to take control of their own lives.
The Pomegranate Project is the first holistic protection and empowerment model of its kind in Greece for vulnerable refugee and asylum seekers, as well as survivors of gender-based violence, to meaningfully support their recovery, resilience, and reintegration.
