Over a decade now since the beginning of the armed conflict in Syria, socio-economic struggles, poverty, political instability, overall violence, and gender-based discrimination continue to paint the reality of the Syrian population. The crisis has disproportionately affected the lives of women and girls in the country: they still register higher rates of poverty than men and face an increased risk of violence. Violence against women and girls (VAWG) remains widely underreported due to lack of shelters and support services for victims, lack of accountability for perpetrators, lack of legal framework addressing this violence as well as persisting legal discrimination, predominantly in personal status law and penal code. Girls continue to suffer from being taken out of school forcibly, coerced into early marriage or facing the risk of human trafficking. The deadly earthquake that has affected both Syria and Turkey has increased the need of humanitarian aid in Syria and exacerbated the existing suffering of women, who have to face additional challenges in a very unstable part of the country.

Women's rights organisations and initiatives have been essential in sustaining communities, raising awareness, challenging gender power structures and advocating for women´s role and equal participation in all political and peace building processes for Syria and in Syria, on international, national and local levels. The protracted armed conflict with all its implications as well as the ongoing ban on civil society organizations have all hampered their development and sustainability as well as communication channels. In 2022 EuroMed Feminist Initiative conducted a study, mapping 167 women´s rights and women´s led organisations and initiatives in Regime controlled areas, Northeast and Northwest Syria, Turkey, Lebanon and Europe. The highest number of organisations (32) are equally operating in the Regime controlled areas and in Turkey. In the Northwest of Syria 29 entities were identified, in Lebanon 27, in Europe 24 and in Northeast Syria 23. Except Europe, majority of organisations underlined restrictive to extremely restrictive civic space.

Supporting the freedom and independence of Civil Society in Syria where women’s rights organisations can prepare the ground for a long-term process towards peace and democracy inclusive of gender equality, has been underlined as fundamental by the Syrian Civil Society Women´s Rights Conference that took place in Brussels on the 9-10 December 2021. Furthermore, lack of sufficient dedicated funds and long-term support to Syrian women´s organisations and initiatives to combat VAWG at all levels, was one of the challenges identified in the Common Agenda for Combating VAWG in Syria, developed during 2022 in a consultative process by Syria Gender Advocacy Group (GAG), with the support of EuroMed Feminist Initiative and funded by the European Union (EU).

This side event will be organised in the frame of the Euromed Feminist Initiative program “Supporting political transition in Syria through gender-sensitive social reconstruction”, funded by Sweden.