The number of new infections in Eastern Europe among women and girls has grown over the last few years, indicating a shift in the nature and trajectory of the epidemic from male to female population. Adolescent and young girls, women and Transgender women from key populations, especially those of drug users, sex workers and youth are particularly likely to experience gender based violence, harassment and assaults double risking their vulnerability to HIV/AIDS, hepatitis and tuberculosis.
There is generally a growing recognition of and attention to gender equality – including Gender Based Violence (GBV) and harmful gender norms – as a cause and consequence of HIV and AIDS. Despite this greater understanding, programming and policies to address the intersection have not yet reached the scale, depth, or breadth required to reverse the overlapping epidemics of GBV and of HIV.
In the Eurasian region, there is a general lack of evidence related to the linkages between human rights/gender equality and HIV and approaches to ensuring regular documentation of cases with a platform for the voices of persons experiencing human rights violence, gender inequalities in the context of HIV.
Specific Background
Eurasian Gender Academy is developed in response to the pressing need to address the persistent gender inequalities and human rights violations that put Women, Girls and Transgender (WG/TG) at a greater risk of, and more vulnerable to HIV, hepatitis and tuberculosis.
The Eurasian Gender Academy focuses on actions in four areas, outlined below:
Integrating gender analysis into assessment, programme design, implementation and monitoring of organizational and national public health responses and strategies;
Strengthening the capacity of participants to systemically integrate and apply gender sensitive, gender oriented, gender budgeted, gender transforming programs, services and activities at organizational and national levels;
Ensuring inclusion of gender aspects in funding appeals and proposals;
Developing and implementing gender-responsive advocacy and lobby.
Eurasian Gender Academy progrma is rooted in a broad-based gender equity and human rights approach and reflects a number of principles, including participation, evidence-informed, tailored and ethical responses, partnership, the engagement of boys and men, leadership, multisectorality and accountability.
Program and content
The Eurasian Gender Academy program includes, but is not limited to the following:
Review relevant national documents related to provision of Public Health services to WG/TG;
Assess the relevance, strengths, shortcomings and weaknesses for the current country Public health response programs for WG/TG and its coverage;
Analyze current model of Public Health interventions for WG/TG and identify key bottlenecks and barriers in interventions’ design, services provision approaches, targeting ways, service delivery track, services utilization by WG/TG, and other barriers;
Analyze the existing package of Public Health services for WG/TG and propose an optimal spectrum of services to support HIV prevention among WG/TG in both virtual and physical spaces;
Use gained skills develop interventions packages for more effective HIV programmes for WG/TG.
It is expected that by the end of study, the participants will be able to conduct:
A gender assessment of country HIV, hepatitis, TB response programs, identifying gaps and opportunities in capacity and gender-responsiveness of activities;
A series of activities resulting improved country HIV, TB and Hepatitis response programs that integrate gender into healthcare activities, including the capacity to carry out a gender analysis and participatory planning processes, to design results based gender responsive emergency interventions, and to develop, monitor and report on gender-sensitive indicators;
A series of gender-responsive package of services, carried out through the framework of national programs that demonstrate concrete results and meet the practical and strategic needs of boys, girls, women and/or men.
