There are many girls raised in conservative families that can’t get to study beyond basic school and are married off at a young age without a chance to get a good job. Many of them not having the resources became victims of domestic violence in new families. Sara (a pseudonym), one of the dozen women – victims of gender-based violence, that used to reside in the shelter run by Tamas Public Union has a similar life story. She was forced to marry by her family when she just turned 18 years old.

“There was always control on me in the family but not on my two brothers. Due to such treatment, I started to believe that I am a weak and dependent person. At the last year of schooling year, I was engaged to one of my relatives, despite that I wanted to continue education,” says Sara.

Life after marriage did not change for the better, even became worse. The family of her husband was even more conservative, and she was not even allowed to visit her own family. Over a period of time, Sara’s situation only worsened as her new husband and new relatives started regularly abuse her emotionally and physically. Over the years, these abuses only intensified and the constant conflict soon made her flee from her husband’s house with her little daughter.

“I had no place to go and could not even return back to my parents. Then I decided to turn to the shelter in Ganja. I heard about this shelter from a friend of mine who participated in one of the awareness-raising campaigns,” says Sara, at that time victim of domestic violence and with the potential to become a victim of trafficking.

Sara received the first assistance via phone and was informed by Kubra Alakbarova, the psychologist of the shelter about the services provided and safe space in the shelter.

Sara with her daughter stayed for five months at the shelter where she received psychological support that boosted up her self-confidence. When she talked about her interest in manicure technics, the shelter staff assisted her to receive relevant practical skills and she joined “Basic business skills” training arranged by IOM Counter Trafficking in Person Project funded by USAID for the individuals vulnerable to trafficking in Ganja.

“After the training, I received the equipment for my small business and I returned to my husband's home, but this time with my own conditions. Today I provide professional nail technic services at my home and earn for my living. The shelter has transformed me from a submissive, helpless woman into an economically free self-confident woman, who knows what she wants, and is able to stand for her rights,” says Sara.

Since 2015, IOM implements the Project “Counter-Trafficking (CT) in Persons Activity” funded by USAID aiming at assisting assist the Government of Azerbaijan and civil society organizations to further improve Azerbaijan´s effectiveness in preventing and combating trafficking in persons (TIP) and forced labour through raising public awareness on trafficking in human beings and providing technical and financial support to the civil society organizations operating shelters for assisting potential and actual victims of trafficking, forced labour.

The action will reach expected results through enhanced partnership and coordination across Government and non-government agencies and the private sector, while also providing financial support to civil society organizations (CSOs) for improved service provision to potential, presumed, and confirmed victims of TIP, forced labour, and Gender-Based Violence (GBV).