Awareness raising

As a part of their efforts, SACC organizes awareness raising trainings relating to issues of sexual assault by carrying out the following awareness raising events:

 1.     Trainings for different groups of society.

For these type of trainings, we mostly target young women. International and Armenian experiences show that minors and women between 20-35 years old are more vulnerable and often the subjects of sexual assault.  

 These trainings are held both in Yerevan and other regions of Armenia. The meetings include introductory information on sexual violence, the types of sexual assault, and the consequences. Information on how to deal with the dangers of sexual assault is provided. Information about the services available to victims of sexual assault in Armenia in presented, as well as the legal procedures necessary when presenting a case to the law enforcement regarding sexual assault.

 2.     Trainings for professionals in the related fields

Trainings are organized for psychologists, social workers, law enforcement agencies, and other professionals. The trainings aim to provide these professionals with general information about sexual assault, but more importantly, proper information on the consequences of sexual violence, such as psychological effects (psychological trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder, and so on).

3.     Preventive trainings

These courses are conducted with parents and children aged 6-18. To prevent sexual violence, it is important to talk about body integrity, boundaries, and consensual and nonconsensual touching. During the meetings with parents, they discuss the need to talk about body integrity with their children and are presented with the skills to do so with children of different age groups. They are also presented with the different types of sexual violence that are widespread in Armenia. The training module for children has been created by SACC with age-appropriate material and focuses on learning about the integrity of children’s own bodies, establishing boundaries and ensuring that physical contact is consensual.