Project Paiwand: strenghtening the FJCS safe house flanders in adressing domestic violence in Afghan families
Organisation/Third party
Humanitarian Welfare Association
Grant amount
€ 16.500
Website
https://humanitarian-welfare-association.org
Country
Belgium
Title of the project
Project Paiwand: Strengthening the Flemish Safe Houses in addressing domestic violence in Afghan families
Project duration
9 months
Target groups
The direct target group consists of the professionals working at FJC Flanders, working with Afghan clients.
The indirect target are Afghan immigrants who will be better understood and guided by the professionals.
Project summary
Project Paiwand strengthens the capacity of Veilig Huis and its key partners to respond more effectively to intra-family and honour-related violence within Afghan families in Flanders.
The project addresses a growing and complex need: an increasing number of Afghan families are entering support systems, while professionals face challenges linked to family dynamics, gender roles, trauma, migration stress, honour and shame, forced marriage, parenting conflicts and distrust towards authorities.
Through specialised training by HWA, professionals from Veilig Huis Antwerpen, other Flemish Veilig Huizen and core partners in welfare, police and justice will gain practical, culturally sensitive tools for risk detection, safe communication, safety planning and case coordination. The programme includes five targeted training modules and follow-up case guidance.
The goal is clear: improve the quality, consistency and safety of interventions, strengthen trust with Afghan families, better protect victims, especially women and children, and embed sustainable expertise across the Veilig Huis network
Project activities
- Project kick-off
- Baseline assessment through a knowledge test, case analysis and needs assessment.
- Five specialist training sessions for professionals working with Afghan families, covering family dynamics, honour-related violence, relationships and sexuality, marriage formation, and young people with a hybrid identity.
- Process evaluation during the training period through observations and participant feedback.
- Additional case consultations by HWA to support professionals in applying the knowledge to real cases.
- Final evaluation through a post-test, case reviews, focus group and final report with recommendations.
Qualitative results
- Increased confidence and professional certainty among Veilig Huis staff and partners.
- Better understanding of Afghan family structures, honour dynamics, gender roles, trauma and migration-related stress.
- Improved culturally sensitive communication with Afghan families.
- More accurate risk assessment in cases involving intrafamilial and honour-related violence.
- Stronger multidisciplinary cooperation and a more consistent approach across Veilig Huis networks.
- More nuanced, less stereotypical and better-aligned professional practice.
Quantative results
- 5 specialist training modules delivered.
- 20 participants per training session.
- 100 individual learning/contact moments between HWA and professionals.
- 5 direct case consultations by HWA.
- Pre- and post-test to measure knowledge gain.
- Attendance rate and participant feedback collected for each training.
- 1 final report with key results, lessons learned and recommendations.