Women's Empowerment and Leadership Development for Democratisation
In June 2014, we held a workshop entitled "Culturally-Justified Violence Against Women: Resistance and Sustaining Our Activism" in Beirut, attended by activists from across the Middle East. This was the first of three workshops on this topic, befor one held in Dakar, Senegal for African activists, and another in Jakarta, Indonesia for those from the Asia region. The aim of the workshops was to address the security risks facing activists who work to challenge culturally-justified violence against women. Such activists often suffer extreme threats to their wellbeing and security, and the workshop provided strategies for continuing activism while minimising personal and organisational security risks, and maintaining emotional, physical and psychological wellbeing in order to avoid "burnout".