Raising awareness about gender-based cybEr violence and advocating for SAFEr online environment for women and girls

• Acronym: bE-SAFE
• Project coordinator: Ombudsperson for Gender Equality of the Republic of Croatia
• Partners: Institute for Social Research in Zagreb (Croatia), CESI – Center for Education Counseling of Research (Croatia), Domine (Croatia), Lobby Europeo de Mujeres en España- LEM España (Spain), Comissão para a Cidadania e a Igualdade de Género (Portugal)
• Financed by: European Commission, Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme
• Duration: January 16, 2023 – January 15, 2026
• Project web-site: https://be-safe.prs.hr/cms

This action-driven project aims to raise awareness and increase knowledge about the problem of gender-based cyber violence (cyber GBV) and to advocate for comprehensive legal and policy responses to cyber GBV in Croatia, Spain and Portugal, but also at a wider European level. This will be done by:

1) conducting nationally representative research on cyber GBV among children and youth, educational professionals and law enforcement officials;

2) by organizing educational program on cyber GBV for primary and secondary school students and educational professionals, and providing trainings for professionals in supporting services and law enforcement officials;

3) by engaging in extensive advocacy activities among competent institutional actors, decision and policy makers and CSOs, and initiating a process of law and policy making in relation to cyber GBV at the local, national and European level;

and 4) by launching an awareness raising campaign.

The project beneficiaries are young people in education, teachers, professionals working with young people, police officers, social welfare workers, health care workers, professionals in the judiciary, representatives of local, regional and national authorities, CSOs, gender experts, MPs, representatives of equality bodies. The main results are indepth knowledge about various aspects of cyber GBV, educational tool for working with young people on cyber GBV, initiated process of evidence-based law- and policy-making to tackle cyber GBV, national media campaign and promotional activities to sensitize relevant stakeholders and Croatian citizens about cyber GBV.