Local community organizations work to create equal and safe social, political and legal environments and respectful lives for queer people. To achieve the goal, in addition to different activities that involve queer rights advocacy, raising community awareness, and more, organizations also offer services to queer people.
Services include informing queer people about their rights, opportunities and non-discriminatory approaches; Also, legal and psychological services, social worker services, free tests for sexually transmitted diseases and more. Services are provided through various information campaigns, as well as with meetings and trainings.
Among the organizations are “Equality Movement“, “Temida“, “Women’s Initiatives Supporting Group” (WISG), “Tbilisi Pride“, “Peripheria“.
In this article, we will discuss the services of the “Women’s Initiatives Supporting Group”.
“Women’s Initiative Support Group” (WISG) was founded by eight women of different professions in 2000, to support the equal participation of women in various fields of life and activities aimed at social change.
WISG believes that in a patriarchal society women do not have equal opportunities and cannot benefit from the public good, women’s work and contribution to social development is overlooked and not fully recognized; A woman is perceived as an object of culture and politics, not a subject. So, the activities and efforts of the group since its creation have been aimed at correcting the current situation in the country and achieving legal equality. WISG focuses on the empowerment of lesbian, bisexual women and transgender people.
The mission of the organization is to popularize feminist ideas, promote the development of women’s activism and the formation of a safe environment in which sexism and homo/bi/transphobia are recognized as public problems at the cultural, social, legal and political levels. WISG’s goal is to develop, an organizational management model, in accordance with the strategic plan, that effectively promotes feminist ideas, as well as the integration of LBTI women into society through their personal development, advocacy and involvement in activism.
According to the views of the organization, one of the constant challenges is to create a safe feminist space, both at the organizational and at the community level. WISG believes that for this purpose, it is important to rethink existing management models in women’s and queer organizations from a feminist perspective, so that a horizontal, shared and caring approach becomes an integral part of the organizational culture.
Services of the Organization
“Women’s Initiative Supporting Group” offers different free and anonymous services. Among them are:
Social Worker
A social worker is the first to meet the person who came to the organization to receive this or that service, assesses their needs together with them and establishes a plan for making changes. Also, depending on the need, manages it with specialists or services inside the organization or outside the organization and, if desired, is involved in the process. In addition, the organization helps community members acquire employment skills and to start a job, get physical and mental health services, identify and realize potential and resources, and more.
In addition, social workers work with family members of beneficiaries if there is a need and consent. And in the case of a minor beneficiary – based on the consent of a parent or other legal representative.
Lawyer
At WISG, you can receive legal advice and follow-up services in criminal, civil and administrative law matters, which include telephone, online and in-person consultation, legal services and representation in government agencies and courts. In addition, in the case of especially important cases, the lawyer conducts strategic proceedings in the Constitutional Court, the European Court of Human Rights and the UN bodies.
Psychologist
Psychological counseling includes individual and group sessions, and aims to help with the mental health of service recipients. Psychological counseling involves psychoeducation and empowerment of family members and/or support individuals of the service recipient. Counseling may be done remotely, by telecommunication, if there is difficulty in moving or other unavoidable circumstances. The work of a consultant-psychologist is based on international professional ethics standards, provides for strict adherence to the principle of confidentiality and creation of a safe space for service recipients.
Sexologist
Consultation of a sexologist includes individual work and its purpose is to take care of the sexual health of the individual receiving the service. Sexologist counseling involves informing the recipient of the service about issues related to gender and sexuality, the details of partner relationships, the range and repertoire of receptivity. During consultation with a sexologist, it’s possible to rule out and prevent sexual disorders. The recipient of the service is given the opportunity to evaluate the individual characteristics of his sexuality, gender identity and sexual orientation together with a doctor. A Doctor Sexologist is guided by the international standard of medical ethics and full protection of confidentiality.
To receive free services and/or have more questions, the organization can be contacted as follows:
- Tel: 595190303
- E-mail: [email protected]
You can read the news on the organization’s Facebook page.
Read about the services of other organizations as well: