Forumul Artelor Vizuale Association, initiator of the Eforie Colorat Festival, in partnership with DP World in Romania, runs the “LOVE #ABUSE” program, a campaign to raise awareness of violence against women.
Due to persistent inequalities, abuse of power, and unjust practices, violence against women continues to be one of the most notable human rights violations in all societies, regardless of social, economic, or national boundaries.
Domestic violence appears on the ruins of a sandcastle in a home that fails to become a home, a refuge, the center of security and balance of a person. It can occur at any time in a lifetime and can take thousands of forms, from verbal and physical violence or emotional abuse to sexual violence, psychological or financial abuse. It can take many forms, some loud and shocking, some silent and hard to prove. Most often, all these nuances merge, accompanying the decline of a person, a period when her identity is gradually erased, and the power to decide her path disappears.
Over a year, thousands of women have been attacked in Romania. Now and then, a woman loses her life, and an avalanche of testimonies floods the networks while diverse voices call for change. The anger gradually fades, and thousands of other stories of women assaulted on the street, in public transport, at work, or on the way home are lost in its echoes.
Most women are mistreated at home, where relatives, husbands, or partners become abusers, sometimes so brutal that they forever break the thread of destiny. There are online or offline bullying, harassment in public space, and physical and mental harm that affects human being. Threats are also violence, as is coercion or deprivation of liberty in public and private life.
As part of the “LOVE # ABUSE” program, educational workshops were organized for young people from the Carmen Sylva High School. These events encourage a culture of respect and equality and lay the foundations for a society that guarantees every human being’s fundamental rights.
Victims of domestic assaults were involved in a specialized assistance program, receiving emotional and material support to overcome their trauma and rebuild their lives.
As part of the campaign, DP World in Romania hosted a series of workshops with various themes, from violence in the business environment to gender equality or the importance of mental health. The meetings were coordinated by Monica Iuliana Popescu and Sava Nicu Ionel, therapists and doctors in psychological sciences.
“Domestic violence significantly impacts individuals, families, communities, and society as a whole and undermines human dignity and ultimately the economic development of a community. It is a violation of human rights and a manifestation of gender inequality, perpetuated by power structures with patriarchal visions or old cultural norms that give priority status to men.
Its far-reaching effects can have immediate and long-term impacts, affecting physical, psychological, and social well-being.
We launched this campaign to raise awareness about violence against women. Among our goals is to educate young people for a better understanding of all forms of abuse and to know the ways of action in case of gender-based aggression. Our approach adds to the effort of all those who aim for a change at the cultural level and, consequently, in behaviors, to balance the power imbalances that favor violence against women and their children.
The campaign is also a call addressed to all social actors, government, civil society, women’s or youth organizations, the private sector, the media, academic communities, or specialized social assistance structures, all invited once again to join forces in the joint effort to stop gender-based violence”, said the initiator of this program, Alexandra Dumitrescu – Vice-President of the Visual Arts Forum Association.
Launched at the end of May, the “LOVE #ABUSE” campaign will run until August 2023 and includes a series of events that bring together psychology and social assistance experts, activists, various categories of communication specialists, and authorities at the seaside.
The guests meet their audience in the summer garden or Eforie Sud and Techirghiol educational centers. Over the last two months, a group of 60 students from the local Carmen Sylva High School was invited to a series of workshops where, in a discourse appropriate to their age, they inventoried contemporary civic concepts, starting from the definitions of violence against women and how we identify it, to the practical knowledge, such as who to turn to if we are victims of abuse or how to intervene if we observe such cases.
Human rights professionals and experts affiliated with gender-based violence think tanks add valuable insights to these themed workshops. In a dynamic and interactive structure, the workshops became a framework for experimentation, where teenagers, using non-explicit video materials, reviewed the different situations of violence, encouraged to express their opinions in a reasoned way.
