On Thursday, August 25, 2022, the Center for Gender and Development Studies conducted its first focus group discussion in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MOLSA) in Erbil. Dr. Choman Hardi, CGDS Director, and Dr. Twana Abdwlrahman, CGDS research fellow, facilitated the discussion. This was the first of two consultations meetings which aim to collect information about the challenges and training needs of MOLSA staff and departments, in order to develop appropriate training modules and other tools to build the capacity of employees at the ministry’s institutions. The next discussion will be held in Sulaimani. Participants included employees of various educational institutions that support people with disabilities, the juvenile and women’s reformatory centers, and the MOLSA’s gender unit. This is one of the outputs of CGDS’s Masculinity, Violence, and Prevention project which is part of the Gender, Justice and Security Hub, funded by the UK Research and Innovation.