Equip teachers in Northern Cyprus with the skills to support teenage girls to stand up against discrimination and violence.

Why we care: Girls and young women in northern Cyprus experience discrimination and violence based on their gender and sexual orientation.

How we’re solving this: Training high school teachers to be advocates for girls and support them to overcome discrimination and violence.

In northern Cyprus girls and women are vulnerable to discrimination, physical abuse, and exploitation. Their struggles are often unseen as the social and legal system and patriarchal beliefs do not recognize gender-based violence as a crime. Violence against women has profound implications on girls and young women. There are often severe and lasting health consequences such as sexually transmitted infections and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) . The social and psychological trauma of gender-based violence affect survivors, families, and entire communities.

KAYAD is developing a teacher training program for high school educators in urban and rural areas, giving teachers the skills and resources they need to empower teenage girls to stand up against discrimination and violence. KAYAD will train 100 teachers through four programs in different communities.  The participants will learn how to train other teachers on organizing discussions in the classroom on sexual identity, sexual orientation, sexual and reproductive rights, and reproductive health. Teachers will also be equipped to adequately handle problems that students face around these topics. Lastly, teachers will develop advocacy campaigns to raise awareness in schools and distribute informational materials on sexual and reproductive health rights.  

With hundreds of teachers advocating for girls and women’s rights in schools, over 30,000 girls will be reached. This strategy to empower younger generations of girls will reduce a culture of impunity that perpetuates violence. Together women and girls in northern Cyprus will be part of the solution to make all forms of violence and discrimination a thing of the past.