Collective Action to Support Women's Rights 2nd Quarterly Report (Year 2)

The project is implemented by Gender and Development for Cambodia (GADC) with three co-implementing partners in six provinces, including Battambang, Pursat, Kampong Chhnang, Kampong Speu, Kampot, and Mondulkiri, covering a total of 33 communes over a period of two years and nine months. The main objective of the project is to empower women and youth to positively transform societal and political institutions to further gender equality and end gender-based violence. In the first quarter of 2020, a Training of Trainer (ToT) on "Transformative Leadership for Gender Equality" was conducted for 23 community capacity development team (CCBTs) to provide basics of gender knowledge, leadership & power, facilitation skill, and citizen's rights & roles. The training aimed to help CCBTs gain a better understanding of their mission, roles, and responsibilities, as well as commitment to achieving their goals and vision, addressing gender issues, and promoting gender equality in the community. During the first quarter, CCBTs provided training to Community Core Groups (CCGs) and youth core groups on "Gender concept and Leadership for Gender Equality" with a total number of 75 trainees, including 68 women. The training focused on self-identity, gender & social expectation, social norm, leadership, gender equality, basic gender concepts, and gender stereotypes. A refresher training on "Leadership for Gender Equality" was also organized with a total number of 22 attendees, including 17 women, to share knowledge on facilitation skill, GBV mechanism in preventing domestic violence against women, and action plan for further training of CCBT to core group. Youth groups from CCBTs facilitated seven meetings, participated by 373 attendees, including 284 female participants, to raise awareness on gender concepts, gender stereotypes, and social norms. CCGs facilitated 19 meetings, participated by 576 people, including 474 women, to identify and address current issues within the communities, improve knowledge on sex and gender, problem-solving, and communication. A Gender Café was organized for CCBTs with 39 female participants, providing a safe and private space for women to share their concerns and challenges with each other. The project also supported 62 CCBTs (43 women) and 6 CCGs (6 women) to attend 20 different monthly commune meetings, where local communities were able to raise their concerns directly to the local authority. Two community facilitators and eight CCBTs participated in two Community Investment Plan (CIP) meetings, presenting four critical plans, including economic development and social security plans. The project also conducted a One Billion Rising (OBR) event in Mondulkiri and Kampong Speu provinces, with a total number of 241 participants, including 148 women, and celebrated the 109th International Women's Day (IWD) with a series of events in Phnom Penh, Mondulkiri, and Kampot provinces, with 582 participants, including 414 women. The COVID-19 pandemic caused some project activities to be delayed, but some provinces were able to continue the project implementation with precautionary measures. Online training was also delivered to ensure operational continuity. The project staff's capacity building remains a critical requirement, and GADC has been working hard to improve their capacity through various approaches.