From Silence to Strength: Empowering women and girls in Nepal through Project HAVEN
From Silence to Strength: Empowering women and girls in Nepal through Project HAVEN
School girls actively engage in a Project HAVEN training session at a Kathmandu school, Bagmati Province, Nepal.
For 19-year-old Tina*, harassment was a daily threat lurking on every street corner in her hometown of Morang in Eastern Nepal. Catcalls, unwanted advances, and the constant fear for her safety eroded her sense of freedom and dignity.
Unfortunately, her story isn’t at all unique. Sabana*, a refugee woman living nearly 500 kilometres away in the capital of Kathmandu, was also plagued with the same fears.
Violence and harassment disproportionately affect women and girls worldwide, and many of those living in Nepal, like Tina and Sabana, are no strangers to it.
One initiative, Project HAVEN (short for Harassment and Violence Elimination Network), has offered a glimmer of hope for many. Starting in 2021 as a collaboration between the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and FightBack Nepal, Project HAVEN’s goal is to create safer spaces and empower individuals, particularly women and girls, including refugee communities through training and awareness programs.
Initially, Tina and Sabana and 2,000 others around the country were trained by FightBack in self-defence techniques, strategies for managing fear, identifying perpetrators, understanding the dynamics of sexual violence and learning to develop assertive communication skills.
"When I learned how to defend myself verbally and physically, a fire ignited in me. I knew I couldn’t be silent anymore," said Sabana.
Training of Trainers
Due to their commitment to the program and potential for leadership, Tina, Sabana, and over 200 others were selected to become Project HAVEN trainers themselves. This role allows them to pass on knowledge to their own communities, ensuring the program's lasting impact, as well as fostering social cohesion among refugees and locals.
"The best part is that UNHCR isn’t just training refugees," continued Sabana. "But also, members of the host community. This benefits everyone."
In the FightBack facilitated Training of Trainers programme, Tina and Sabana gained even more knowledge on violence and harassment, consent, identifying online and offline grooming and ways to seek help.
"...a fire ignited in me. I knew I couldn’t be silent anymore"
By the end of the two-week programme, they presented their learnings, built practical, scenario-based training plans for their communities, and joined 189 others as certified Project HAVEN trainers. They then returned to their districts and got to work.
"The training sessions were so interactive and easy to understand that we now know what to do in different situations", said Nina* from a refugee community in Eastern Nepal. "For example, after the training, I used my voice as a weapon for the first time, and it worked."
Through trainers like Sabana and Tina, Project HAVEN reached into the furthest corners of Morang, Kathmandu, Jhapa and Kaski districts, impacting over 57,000 individuals, including 25,000 boys, 25,000 girls, 4,000 parents and 3,000 women in refugee and host communities. Girls were empowering girls. Boys started to break the cycle of toxic behaviour by calling out their own peers. Teachers talked to parents about prevention, and women stood in solidarity with each other.
Project HAVEN graduates proudly display their certificates after completing training in Kathmandu, Bagmati Province, Nepal.
"The remarkable outcomes of this confidence-building project underscore the importance of empowering individuals and communities with relevant skills so we can contribute to a world where everyone feels safe and respected," said UNHCR Nepal Representative Ms. Carolin Spannuth Verma.
With the support of UNHCR Nepal, FightBack, and the dedication of the local and refugee trainers, Project HAVEN ignited a belief in the possibility of safer and more equitable communities. For Tina, the change is undeniable.
"The streets that once made me cower no longer hold the same power," she said. "But Project HAVEN isn’t just about me; it’s about every girl who deserves to feel safe."
*Names have been changed for protection reasons.
Watch how Project HAVEN trainers share their knowledge with their communities:
