A third of teenagers know young people involved in relationships where one of the partners is aggressive. Nationally, in the first 10 months of 2023, the number of criminal acts in the field of domestic violence increased by 4.85%, compared to the first 10 months of 2022, from 46,127 to 48,368 acts, according to the Romanian Police.

Of the total victims of domestic violence, over 67% are women, and 14% are minors. World Vision Romania has launched the campaign “Abuse leaves marks. Information heals”, in partnership with the Romanian Police and Alka Group.

The campaign is being run on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook, through a series of videos with specialists in psychology, social work, as well as lawyers, teachers and police officers who offer advice to teenagers on how to prevent abuse, but also through a spot that can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/IG4rYpjX9sU?feature=shared

At the same time, for the fourth consecutive year, the project “Rural Youth, Agents of Change” is being carried out. Last year, 50 girls from rural communities in Iași County benefited from psychological counseling, workshops to increase self-esteem, vocational mentoring, as well as support with meditations for completing the Baccalaureate exam.

Other World Vision Romania data shows that:

  • 11% of young people say they have been in relationships where their partners tried to control their every decision;
  • Two in ten teenage girls say their partner makes them feel like they’re not good enough;
  • 6% had partners who insisted on having sexual contact with them, even though they didn’t want to.
  • One in ten teenage girls feels insufficiently or not at all informed about how to protect themselves from potential sexual abuse. In addition, a similar percentage of young women believe that a partner’s insistence on having sex despite refusal constitutes sexual abuse to a small extent or not at all.

It is also worrying that almost a third (28%) of adolescents would not turn to the authorities if they were victims of violence, which highlights a lack of trust or knowledge of protection and intervention mechanisms.

50 girls from the village are supported to develop their self-esteem and professional skills

50 high school students from 15 rural communities in Iași County will benefit from a package of educational services, personal development and psychological counseling in the 2023-2024 school year through the project “Rural Youth, Agents of Change”.

The aim of the project is to increase their self-esteem and protect them from the risk of exposure to situations of violence, as well as to support their school career and professional development. Here are the areas of intervention of the project:

  • Personal and interpersonal development: includes sessions focused on self-knowledge, identifying personal resources and skills, and developing beneficial interpersonal relationships. The goal is to improve school performance and build healthy relationships in school and in the community.
  • Combating violence: includes information, prevention, and intervention sessions against violence, with a focus on recognizing types of violence, victims, witnesses, aggressors, and intervention solutions. The goal is to raise awareness and reduce abuse against minors.
  • Vocational guidance: This segment consists of empowerment workshops on topics such as self-confidence, the role of women in society, skills and talents, and public speaking, designed to help students make good decisions for their professional and personal careers.
  • Psychological counseling: This includes individual and group therapy sessions in schools, focused on solving problems specific to students from vulnerable backgrounds.
  • 1-on-1 and group mentoring with successful employees from companies, NGOs, and state institutions.
  • Meditations: Online learning sessions, based on a needs analysis questionnaire, to support students in the subjects they have the most difficulty with in order to take the Baccalaureate exam.

“Many young women in rural communities do not recognize abuse, so our responsibility, among the entire society, is to intensify education and awareness-raising efforts. Statistics show an urgent need to redefine young women’s and men’s perceptions of abuse and to increase their awareness. Through our project ‘Youth in Rural Areas, Agents of Change’, we offer support and a safe environment to adolescent girls from vulnerable backgrounds, while contributing to their formation as future adults, informed, capable of identifying and rejecting any form of violence”, stated Mihaela Nabăr, Executive Director of World Vision Romania.

“One of the pillars that guides us at Alka Group is active involvement in the community we are part of. Because WE CARE. We believe that only together can we lay a brick to build a better world. In this sense, the only way to demonstrate that we truly care is by acting to increase the level of education and awareness of things that should be normal.

It is both disturbing and alarming to see how many young souls cannot recognize acts of abuse or violence and consider them natural. It is no longer a secret that young people constitute the future of our society and we want to do our best to raise a generation of strong, confident women who know how to impose limits and pass on the same values ​​to their future children”, declared Ady Hirsch, CEO of Alka Group.