The Arakhel project aims to upskill Roma Mediators in victim support services, raise awareness and provide information to Roma women victims about GBV services, and develop new GBV services and tools that are tailored and specialized to meet the needs of Roma women survivors and victims of gender-based violence (GBV).

More specifically, Arakhel seeks to address the following gaps and needs:

• The lack of availability of, and access to, comprehensive, targeted protection and specialist support services for Roma women victims of GBV and domestic violence.
• The limited skills of Roma (health and other) mediators in relation to victim support and awareness-raising on accessing protection and support services.
• The limited awareness and access to information among Roma women victims (and potential victims) of GBV/domestic violence regarding their rights and the support available, as well as a lack of trust in service providers.
• The need to challenge and change existing patriarchal norms, attitudes, and stereotypes, along with the low level of awareness within Roma communities that contributes to the acceptance of violence against women and a limited understanding of the different forms of violence.

Overall, the Arakhel project aims to achieve the following specific objectives:

1. Improve the availability of, and access to, protection and specialist support services for Roma women victims of GBV/domestic violence in Greece, Romania, Serbia, North Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
2. Enhance the skills of at least 100 Roma (health and other) mediators in victim support and awareness-raising, enabling them to promote access to protection and support services (as “GBV Mediators”).
3. Increase awareness and access to information among Roma women victims (and potential victims) of GBV/domestic violence regarding their rights and available support, while also strengthening their trust in service providers.
4. Contribute to challenging and transforming existing patriarchal norms, attitudes, and stereotypes, as well as raising awareness within Roma communities about the unacceptability of violence against women and the different forms it can take.
5. Strengthen the awareness of relevant policymakers and local/national authorities regarding the specific protection needs of Roma women victims of GBV/domestic violence, and promote the mainstreaming of the proposed solutions.

The objectives of the Arakhel project will be achieved through the implementation of the following activities:

• Exchange of experience and good practices: This includes mapping and analyzing existing support and protection models and services for Roma women victims of GBV in the five partner countries, as well as organizing an online learning and exchange workshop to share knowledge, identify commonalities and differences, and prioritize needs for tailored and specialist support.
• Training of Roma GBV Mediators: A training programme, based on a train-the-trainer model, will be developed and implemented to build the skills and capacities of at least 100 Roma mediators, enabling them to act as “Roma GBV Mediators” in their communities and lead the work of local Anti-GBV Support Centres.
• Establishment and operation of Anti-GBV Support Centres: New centres will be established in Greece, Romania, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, while the services of the existing “Isi Arka” Centre in Shuto Orizari will be improved and further expanded.
• Awareness-raising activities: Events, online campaigns, and informational/multimedia materials will be used to raise awareness among Roma women victims (and potential victims) of GBV/domestic violence about their rights and available support, reduce stigma, and challenge patriarchal norms, attitudes, and stereotypes within Roma communities.

The primary target groups of the Arakhel project include:

• Roma (health and other) mediators, as “GBV Mediators”
• Roma women victims of GBV and domestic violence
• Roma communities (women and men)
• Relevant policymakers and local and national authorities