The Violence 2 theBench project involved young participants from 7 different European countries: Spain, Bulgaria, Romania, Italy, Latvia, Portugal and the Netherlands. In the process of choosing a partner, priority was given to countries with different cultural and linguistic traditions, as well as their experience in the field of prevention of sexual violence, gender discrimination and promotion of women's sports. Despite all the efforts made by European countries, sexist violence continues to be a serious problem for our European society. According to data from Euromonitor, women are the main victims of gender violence, and in addition:
• One in three women in the EU has suffered physical and/or sexual violence since the age of 15.
• More than half of all women have been sexually harassed.
• In nearly one in five cases of violence against women, the perpetrator is an intimate partner.
Violence2theBench was designed in line with the objectives of several European programs and strategies, such as the EU Youth (2019-2027) the EU Gender Equality Strategy (2020-2025) and, unsurprisingly, the Erasmus+ program (2021-2027).
More specifically, this project was a youth exchange program developed under Key Action 1: Learning Mobility of people of the new Erasmus+ program. In accordance with the objective of the program, Violence2theBench equiped participants with the skills and abilities necessary for their participation in a future society free of sexist violence. Through non formal activities, the young participants developed and improved their leadership, critical thinking skills, leadership and sense of initiative.
Call: 2022
Project ID: 2022-1-ES02-KA152-YOU-000066343
Project Duration: 1 month: 1 March 2023 - 31 March 2023.
Project consists of seven partners from seven countries:
Coordinator Club deportivo handbol Muro d'Alcoi (Spain)
Partner 1 SPORTSROOM (Bulgaria)
Partner 2 Latvijas Sporta izglītības iestāžu Direktoru padome (Latvia)
Partner 3 Associazione Giosef Giovani Senza Frontiere (Italy)
Partner 4 ASOCIATIA SCOUT SOCIETY (Romania)
Partner 5 FAJUB Federação das Associações Juvenis de Braga (Portugal)
Partner 6 Stichting yEUth (Netherlands)
Main objectives:
Thus, the main objectives of “Violence 2 theBench Preventing sexist violence through sports” are:
• Combat gender violence, discriminatory practices and stereotypes through sport.
• Give a deeper understanding of the concepts of gender equality and gender based violence.
• Improve the social and civic competences of the participants and foster their critical thinking skills and sense of initiative.
• Transmit the values of equality, leadership and teamwork as hallmarks of female empowerment through sport.
• Promote female inclusion in political, participatory and social life using sport as a common thread.
• Promote diversity and European values and improve awareness of the Erasmus+ program and its opportunities.
