Our Pillars

Gender Education

One of the main pillars of SWV is women’s awareness and empowerment. In order to fulfill this mission, SWV puts an emphasis on education. Since the foundation of the organization, numerous non-formal training sessions have been held for girls and women. The objectives of these training sessions are to raise awareness about gender equality and women's rights, to empower and strengthen the skills of young girls and women, to break the stereotypes, to increase knowledge about prevention and to overcome domestic and gender-based violence.

However, SWV does not limit itself to only non-formal education. SWV views gender education as a basis for domestic violence prevention and have taken measures to ensure gender education becomes a formal aspect of school curricula in the Republic of Armenia. Gender education includes subjects relating to gender equality. As a means of promoting this activity, SWV along with National Institute of Education, developed and published a theoretical and practical guide "Man and Woman, Different but Equal", which will be given to all schools in the Republic of Armenia.

Women in Politics

SWV recognizes the slow development of the "Women, Peace and Security" agenda in Armenia and understands the importance of including women in peace building processes, therefore, the NGO has implemented projects which aim to raise women's participation in the peace building process since 2011.

Forming its “Women, Peace and Security” pillar in 2011, the organization began to spread the “Women in Black” international feminist movement in Armenia, especially among young women living in the different regions within Armenia. Since 2016, the "Women in Black" movement, with the efforts of SWV, has acted as an independent body and is governed by its own young members.

In 2013, an Armenian monitoring group for UN Security Council Resolution 1325 was established, which prepared monitoring reports on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325. In 2015, within the peace building framework, the organization started an advocacy campaign aimed at raising awareness about UN Security Council Resolution 1325. In addition, an advocacy guide, known as "Women, Peace and Security", was created for the UN Security Council Resolution 1325.

In 2015-2016, SWV further strengthened its cooperation with "The Global Network of Women Peacemakers." This resulted in a new project, which aims to create a program of national activities about UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in Armenia in close cooperation with state authorities.

Anti-Discrimination

In 2012, the Rapid Response Unit (RRU) was formed through the efforts of SWV. The Rapid Response Unit was created as a result of the issues our country faces and the violence against women that is prevailing in Armenia. The mission of RRU is to reveal domestic violence cases, strategically litigate, raise public awareness, ensure fair and transparent investigations of court trials, and provide media coverage. Thereby, contributing to the decrease of gender-based violence cases against women and the improvement of more effective mechanisms and strategies at the state level.

To achieve these goals, the RRU team cooperates with existing hotlines and crisis centers for women and the police. One success of the RRU was the creation of an online platform - http://rru.swv.am. This provides the opportunity for all people to report cases of gender-based violence from any place and at any time. By pinning their location on the map, the RRU team can investigate cases of gender-based violence, respond to it and provide future assistance. Anyone in the world has access to the RRU website to read about the reported cases.

Women's Economical Emancipation

Women’s economic emancipation is one of the pillars of SWV. Extensive research evidences that there is a massive gender gap in political participation and employment opportunities between men and women. Therefore, the truest way to push women forward to economic emancipation is to economically empower them.

Studies conducted globally show that women’s economic empowerment is a

prerequisite for alleviating worldwide poverty and pursuing sustainable development goals. Simultaneously, women’s economic empowerment contributes to achieving women’s legal rights. Once being economically independent, women are more vocal about their rights and opportunities.

SWV embraces that women’s economic emancipation in Armenia cannot be realized overnight. Projects aimed at economic empowerment of women should be complemented with public campaigns intended to increase overall society’s knowledge in gender studies and creating gender-sensitive educational system.