Women who feel protected and resilient are more able to become active participants for peacebuilding in their communities. HealthNet TPO supports women and girls, providing psychosocial support and building stronger community networks so that they feel empowered and enabled to engage in decision-making processes for sustainable peace.
Colombia
Our goal in Colombia is to enhance the protection for women and girls by increasing access to psychosocial care and to create an environment whereby women can feel safe within their communities and can realise their rights. Through community engagement we are helping to restore social cohesion and collective action. Women are empowered and enabled to be active participants in activities promoting conflict resolution and peacebuilding.
Colombia is characterised by a repressed civic space, with an unstable political environment and entrenched gender inequality.
In 2016, the signing of the peace agreement between the Colombian government and the FARC put an official end to over 50 years of conflict. However, the country continues to experience high levels of violence. State presence has been insufficient, especially in rural areas, leaving a space for violent criminal groups to thrive.
Human rights violations, forced displacements and ongoing violence cause great psychosocial and mental harm to individuals, families, and communities. Access to services for victims of the conflict, including to health services, is limited or disrupted in many areas of the country.