Gender Equality MARCH 2020 Gender Equality | Page 18

equality, and on the prevention of violence against women and honor/custom killings to raise the awareness level of men who constitute an important part of combating violence against women. This leads to the training of 450.000 private soldiers and non-commissioned officers on an annual basis. One of the important activities carried out with regard to combating violence against women in our Country has been the “Combating Domestic Violence against Women Project”. Various meetings, seminars, trainings and workshops have been organized for all relevant parties during the project which was implemented in 2006-2008 with the financial support of the European Commission and technical assistance of United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Within the framework of the project, an utmost importance has been attached to carry out activities aiming at the media, an important stakeholder in combating violence against women. The workshop on “Gender and Media” aiming at furnishing the future media professionals with gender equality and awareness on domestic violence has been conducted with a large participation of students. Moreover, workshops aiming at developing local media agencies’ sensitivity on their roles and responsibilities vis a vis the violence against women have been carried out in various regions and provinces with the participation of local journalists. Laying the ground on the importance of creating awareness and sensitivity among men so that their participation in combating violence against women is enabled, KSGM held conferences on “the Participation of Men in Combating Violence against Women”. One of the launchers of a worldwide renowned campaign was invited as a speaker to these conferences where violence victims from 81 provinces, representatives of public agencies providing services to women under risk, relevant Ministries, international organizations, NGOs, and university representatives were invited to participate. Following the conferences, workshops were organized in the form of small groups. In order to render more efficient and higher quality services in cooperation, some ministries and institutions have their own units which provide direct services or carry out activities for women. These units are; • State Planning Organization – Directorate General for Social Sectors and Coordination, • Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs – Department Head of Women Farmers, • Ministry of National Education - General Directorate of Technical Education for Girls, • Ministry of Health- General Directorate of Maternal and Child Health and Family Planning, 18