Capacity building and documentation

Palaung Women’s Organisation workshop. Photo: Renae Davies.

Thai Burma border

Partner: Palaung Women’s Organisation (PWO)

Funding source: IWDA supporters and AusAID – ANCP

Issue: Domestic violence is a growing problem in the Palaung communities from North Eastern Burma, exacerbated by poverty and protracted civil unrest. Within Palaung communities, knowledge and understanding of human rights and gender-based violence is limited, as is access to justice. Women’s rights have been considered secondary to those of men, with most women believing the violence perpetrated by their husbands is socially acceptable.

Outline: This one-month intensive training program raises awareness of and strengthens responses to sexual and gender-based violence within Palaung communities. In 2011, this initiative launched a significant report, Stolen Lives which documented five years research in relation to trafficking of Palaung women.

Impact: Through the training program, 15 women increased their knowledge about issues relating to gender-based violence and their capacity to respond. The launch of the report Stolen Lives: human trafficking from Palaung areas of Burma to China received significant local and international media attention, helping to raise awareness of trafficking and human rights violations experienced by women in Palaung communities.

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