Caracas – August 2021 – Impact Hub Caracas – a community that promotes triple impact entrepreneurship: financial, social and environmental – launched  the ImpactGirls Gender-Based Violence program.

ImpactGirls GBV is an educational program specially designed by women and aimed at girls between 13 and 17 years of age, from vulnerable communities in Caracas. And was designed in the prevention of Gender Based Violence (GBV). Our slogan “together let’s break the silence” speaks of the sorority approach that this program intends to promote in the face of such difficult and unacceptable situations. This program, is facilitated exclusively by trained educators, psychologists and mentors, mostly from the participants’ communities, and will address issues related to their rights and how to react to aggressions that affect their dignity, their physical, sexual and psychological integrity.

In addition, it will delve into topics such as: gender violence, sexuality, the female body and its functioning, women’s rights and autonomy, with a comprehensive approach to this issue.

Claudia Valladares – Director and Co-Founder of Impact Hub Caracas, pointed out that gender-based violence against women is an inadmissible attack on human rights and undermines their integral dignity. The UN defines violence against women as “physical, sexual or psychological harm to women, including threats of such acts”.

Valladares also commented on why Impact Hub Caracas decided to design the ImpactGirls GBV program. “In Venezuela, the economic and political crisis hinders addressing gender-based violence and has led to the closure of many sexual and reproductive health care institutions and services directed at the issue of GBV. Forty percent of Venezuelan women have been, or are at risk of being victims of some type of GBV. In addition, Venezuela ranks among the 15 countries with the highest number of femicides, the strongest form of gender-based violence against women. Feminicides here are 10% higher than the global rate”. We must put an end to this and the best way to combat it is through education in values at an early age.

ImpactGirls VBG will also help each girl develop a “life project”, in which they can dream and explore through practical examples what they want to be and achieve in life based on their talents, passions and needs.

It will also promote the social integration of hearing impaired young women through the creation of mixed groups of girls with and without special needs.

Impact Girls GBV will be executed by Impact Hub Caracas with the facilitation of the organizations Famsex in charge of Psychologist Neiva Hernández and Fundamad directed by Educator Rodriga Flores. It will provide the necessary tools to young women to help them question prevailing paradigms around this issue. And reinforce the values, self-esteem and future prospects of each of these girls.  The program intends to give the girls the necessary strength to break the silence in case they feel vulnerable, or are victims of gender violence and will help them to channel their experiences.

We hope that these 100 girls will be able to influence other girls in their community and that the effect will be multiplied. And if at some point they feel in danger, they will have the tools and values to deal with these situations. And also the support of other girls and the guidance of mentors in their communities.