On the 5th of July 2021, the Center for Gender and Development Studies team conducted a focus group discussion (FGD) in Erbil. This was for our gender-based violence research project in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, funded by The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The FGD was about the issue of violence against women through the points of view of lawyers, doctors, NGO staff, shelter staff, and the staff of the Directorate of Combating Violence against Women and Journalists.
The aim of this project is to improve the services provided to victimized women. It also aims to identify commonalities among the women who face violence in order to specify risk factors. The issues brought up in this discussion included the roots of violence, as well as the causes, solutions, and suggestions.
The participants engaged in the discussion by pointing out important issues related to their sector. Together, they completed the connections and roles that the fields have in gender-based issues.
Image Description: This photo shows a group of people sitting at an oblong wooden conference table in brown upholstered chairs. There are large beige curtains in the left range of the photo. At the head of the table are two banners in orange script on either side of a woman, with dark curly hair and glasses, who is speaking and gesticulating with both hands. There are three people seated on one side of the table, five on the other, and one at each end. Of these people, three are men. On the table we see several bottles of water, tissues, pieces of paper, a laptop, cups holding pens, and phones.