【March 11】Join us at the NGO CSW68 ANWS Parallel Event

Session title: ‘Story of Economic Violence: Telling the Real Cases in Asian Shelters’

📅 Date: 03/11/2024 (Monday)

⏰ Time: 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm (GMT + 8)

🏛 Organizers: Asian Network of Women’s Shelters, The Garden of Hope Foundation

💻 Format: Virtual (Zoom)

🔗 Registration Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_I-8k7fFxTWCLVgD33aXtfA

The topic of the session: 

Economic violence frequently unfolds within intimate relationships, hindering women’s ability to leave abusive situations due to restricted access to financial resources. Alarmingly, 1.4 billion women worldwide live in countries where economic violence isn’t acknowledged. It’s imperative for Asian Shelters, CSOs, and concerned entities to empower survivors of gender-based violence economically, boosting their job opportunities. 

This Parallel Session will invite women’s shelter organizations from different Asian countries to share real cases of economic violence and discuss the practices and advocacy their organization is working on as well as the legislation in their countries that work to address the issue.

Moderator and Speakers

Moderator: Duke Huang, Secretariat of the Asian Network of Women’s Shelters

Panelists: 

Northeast Asia Region

  • Liya Tang, Emergency Women’s Shelter Supervisor at the Garden of Hope Foundation, Taiwan
  • KITANAKA Chisato, President, co-representative of All Japan Women’s Shelters Network & Sexual violence victim support Hiroshima (Rape crisis center), Associate Professor of Harassment Consultation Office at Hiroshima University, Japan

Southeast Asia Region

  • Socheat THAK, Executive Director of Cambodian Women’s Crisis Center, Cambodia
  • Linnea Elg, Intern at the Center for Women and Development, Vietnam

South Asia Region

  • Kavindi Wijesekera, Manager of the WIN FOR HER Social Enterprise curated by Women In Need & Anoja Makawita, Head of Counselling, Women in Need, Sri Lanka 

Suvekchya Rana, Executive Director of Saathi, Nepal

Speaker Bio:

Liya Tang is the supervisor of an emergency women’s shelter in Taipei, where she actively supports women in their transition to a more stable life. With a strong commitment to advocating for the prevention of domestic violence and the rights of abused women and girls, Liya has been working in GOH’s “Going the Second Mile” project for six years. This initiative focuses on assisting women in rebuilding their lives, providing crucial support in areas such as economic empowerment, medical treatment, and legal assistance. With a background in social work, Liya has dedicated seven years to caring for and assisting victims in situations of intimate partner violence (IPV). A graduate of National Taipei University’s Department of Social Work, she holds the qualifications to serve as a social worker. Recognized for her exceptional contributions, she received the honor of Best Social Worker in 2020 from the Taipei City Government and the Best Service Prize for Social Workers from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, highlighting her significant impact and dedication in the field.

KITANAKA Chisato

  • Born in Wakayama prefecture, Japan. Currently lives in Hiroshima city, Japan.President, co-representative of All Japan Women’s Shelters Network.
  • President, Sexual violence victim support Hiroshima (Rape crisis center)
  • Associate professor of Harassment Consultation Office at Hiroshima University.
  • A social worker on university campus who deals with harassment, bullying, discrimination and violence. Major research theme: sociological gender theory, violence against women, harassment on campus, academic harassment and academic misconduct.
  • Also joined Campus Sexual Harassment National Network (in Japan) since the inception.
  • Master’s Degree from Nagoya University, Graduate School of Letters (Sociology),
  • Participation in Doctoral Program at Nagoya University, Graduate School of Letters (Sociology).
  • Email: kitanaka@hiroshima-u.ac.jp

Mrs. Thak Socheat is currently the Executive Director of Cambodian Women’s Crisis Center, a non-governmental organization that has been recognized by government, civil society and international agencies as a leading women’s organization that advocate for the human rights of women and children, gender justice and the elimination of all forms of violence against women and children. She has previously held a position of Program Manager of CWCC for more than 12 years. 

Socheat holds a Master degree in Gender and Development Studies, School of Environment, Resources and Development, from the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand.

Socheat has experience working with NGOs in Cambodia for more than 14 years and an inter-governmental organization owned by the six countries of Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) based in Thailand, Mekong Institute (MI) for more than 2 years. She had been volunteering as a vice chair of board director of the Cambodian Organization for Children and Development for more 10 years. Currently, she serves as a steering committee member of Gender And Development Network and Asian Network of Women’s Shelter.

My name is Linnea Elg, a 25-year-old Bachelor’s student interning at the Center for Women and Development which works to empower disadvantaged women in Vietnam. As part of my Bachelor’s degree in Global development, I am also conducting an in-depth field study exploring the implications of paid menstrual leave for women in Vietnam. This research, partly funded by a Swedish stipend, exemplifies my dedication to understanding and addressing issues that affect women’s lives. 

I usually reside in Stockholm, Sweden. I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science, a foundation that serves as a complementary backdrop to my current studies.

I am thrilled to be part of this forum, ready to share my experiences and insights on the important topic of economic violence in Vietnam and Asia.

Kavindi Wijesekera

I come from a background of women who have always worked towards supporting and championing Social causes and issues related to women and children. This was the influential impact in my life that led to the unintentional career path that I chose to per sue my career in combatting Sexual and Gender Based Violence Against Women and Girls in Sri Lanka and my dedication, and love, for the cause.

As I’ve always been creative from a young age, and passionate about the arts in all forms, I always wanted to amalgamate my creativity with my work, and I found the perfect balance in the position I hold today at Women In Need. I have the opportunity to work closely with victim survivors themselves in the rehabilitation process towards their holistic empowerment and self-growth. I see them grow through their rehabilitation and empowerment process, receiving legal and counseling services, along with temporary shelter when necessary to strengthen and empower them for their reintegration back to society. Some of our Winners of violence chose to stay with WIN as we sphere head them towards reaching economic empowerment where they are trained in an easy skill to help them gain self-confidence, value, and economic empowerment by giving them employment opportunities, opening avenues for financial independence. A key aspect to breaking the cycle of violence is becoming financially independent, and a key ingredient in a perpetrator’s hold over a victim is their financial reliance on the perpetrator.

I started my journey at Women In Need as a volunteer right after pursuing my further education in business management almost 12 years ago. Although I had no experience working on Gender it was so much a part of my home and my childhood. I have worked to combat GBV in Sri Lanka and grown with WIN in the last 12 years learning to face and deal with common societal issues that seem unrealistic due to its stigma to most in society. My work keeps me grounded and humble, always reminding me that kindness is something that can change a life. Currently I work as the Social Enterprise Project Manager, Shelter Affairs and Creative Admin at Women In Need. I started at WIN with the startup of an empowerment initiative recycling A4 waste and thrown-away Banana Barks to manufacture recycled paper and products. We named this initiative WIN FOR HER, which grew into the arm of WIN’s Social Enterprise, which has grown into 4 regional centers manufacturing products unique to its regions. WIN FOR HER has grown in stages along with the strong women who work hard to see it grow steadily and gradually. All the products manufactured in the regions tell stories of unimaginable pain, mental distress and trauma but also growth, determination and resilience that is not only their pride and joy but mine. Although my work can sometimes be mentally taxing and time-consuming, Seeing our victims grow from the time they step into WIN’s crisis centers going through the stages of WIN’s services of counseling and legal advice and court representation to seeing them finally finding solace and peace of mind at WIN’s shelters is something that is beyond me. It’s been an absolute joy to be able to tie my creativity and love for the cause to help rehabilitate and empower women and girls. There is nothing more rewarding than playing a crucial role, in seeing a victim- survivor, now empowered and a confident woman, as she is reintegrated back to society. 

Anoja Makawita

Psychological Counselor – Women in Need, Colombo 08. (From 2005 June – 2014 January) Joined Women in Need in 2017 March and up to now, 2022 Promoted as Head of Counselling –Women in Need.

As a psychological counselor in Women in Need, I am working with women and children who have been subjected to Domestic violence, Sexual harassment, rape and cyber violence victims.  Apart from that other emotional distress women, men children and teenagers are coming to us to get counseling for day-to-day psychological issues. Per week nearly 10-15 clients seek counselling support free of charge and even though most challengeable I work with perpetrators as well. As a head of counseling, I have a very big responsibility regarding shelter client handling and shelter management on SGBV cases.

Suvekchya Rana is an Executive Director at Saathi an NGO that works on Violence Against Women (VAW) in Nepal. She has been working for Saathi since 2004 and during this period has gained substantial experience on various spectrum of VAW and Gender Equality ranging from domestic violence, harmful traditional practices, child marriage, dignified menstruation, youth peace and security. She is also greatly involved in expanding partnerships and collaboration with different networks and organizations working on VAW including coordinating the National Network Against Domestic Violence (NNADV), the National Network on Beijing-Review Nepal (NNBN) and the National Network of Women Shelters. She is also actively engaged in the Men Engage Alliance and is a coordinator of the Men Engage Alliance Nepal.

Recap: 2023 Asian Conference of Women’s Shelters – Tackling Online and Technology-Facilitated Gender-based Violence in Asia

To delve into the emerging forms of gender-based violence on a global scale, the Garden of Hope Foundation and the Asian Network of Women’s Shelters (ANWS) jointly hosted the “2023 Asian Conference of Women’s Shelters: Tackling Online and Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence” in Taiwan from September 12 to 13, 2023.

The event was inaugurated by Garden of Hope Foundation CEO Wang Yueh-hao, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Lee Li-Feng, Deputy Director-General Department of NGO International Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Elvie Wu, First Vice Chair of GREVIO, Council of Europe Aleid Van Den Brink, and Chairperson of ANWS and National Human Rights Commission member Chi Hui-Jung.

Garden of Hope Foundation CEO Wang Yueh-hao stated in her speech: “Garden of Hope recognized the increasing diversity and severity of technology-facilitated gender-based violence. This not only placed immense physical and psychological pressure on victims but also threatened their personal safety and privacy. Due to the extensive scope of technology-facilitated gender-based violence, collaborative efforts were needed to enhance prevention, education, and support for survivors. This conference also responded to the United Nations’ call to strengthen cooperation between governments, the technology industry, civil society, and women’s rights organizations to effectively address global technology-facilitated gender-based violence.”

Garden of Hope Foundation CEO Wang Yueh-hao

Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Health and Welfare Lee Li-Feng expressed in her speech: “Today, we had guests from 17 countries. Garden of Hope had devoted great effort to organizing this event, which was of significant importance to both the international community and Taiwan. There have been many related legal amendments recently, such as the enactment of the Stalking and Harassment Prevention Act last year and the passage of four digital sexual violence prevention laws in February of this year. Services for victims of sexual imagery offenses had been established, and explicit content involving minors could now be taken down within 24 hours. Last month, amendments regarding sexual harassment issues were also passed, including strengthening services and complaint mechanisms for victims of sexual harassment. Regarding the violence that technology brings to women, the Ministry of Health and Welfare hoped to provide protection for victims in terms of prevention and crime fighting. We looked forward to this conference bringing about a better future.”

Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Health and Welfare Lee Li-Feng

MOFA Department of NGO International Affairs Deputy Director Elvie Wu stated: “On behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I thanked Garden of Hope for organizing this event. In 2023, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs collaborated with Garden of Hope to advocate for a friendly environment for women, children, and gender rights globally. Technology has its pros and cons. The advantage was that conferences like this could transcend geographical constraints, allowing global partners to exchange ideas. The downside was exemplified by past incidents like the Nth Room case in South Korea and the recent #MeToo movement. To prevent perpetrators from reoffending, NGOs led the discussion on these issues ahead of the government. We also needed to reference these experiences to achieve proactive prevention and to support victims of incidents that had already occurred. I hoped that over these two days, countries could exchange their experiences, take this information back to their own countries, and contribute their efforts to global technological anti-violence.”

Deputy Director-General Department of NGO International Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Elvie Wu

First Vice Chair of GREVIO, Council of Europe Aleid Van Den Brink stated: “This was my second time attending the World / Asian Conference of Women’s Shelter. In 2019, it was held in Kaohsiung, and it forged a strong friendship. At this conference, I would also share our global experience in technology-facilitated violence. When we talked about online and offline technology violence, it required policy support, including prevention and related regulations. I hoped to learn from Asia’s prevention methods through this exchange.”

First Vice Chair of GREVIO, Council of Europe Aleid Van Den Brink

Chair of ANWS and Commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission of the Control Yuan, Chi Hui-Jung stated: “ANWS provided a global platform to effectively prevent technological violence. We live in the age of technology. According to a study by The Economist, 85% of women witnessed online violence. Since its establishment, ANWS has continued to collaborate with relevant organizations in Asia to ensure that the most vulnerable groups are protected. This two-day conference allowed our efforts to prevent the latest online violence. I wish the conference a great success.”

Chairperson of ANWS and National Human Rights Commission member Chi Hui-Jung

During the event, United Nations experts, government representatives from various Asian countries, leaders of women’s service and advocacy groups, as well as leaders and experts from the global technology industry gathered to focus on the discussion of digital technology-facilitated gender-based violence issues. There were over 350 participants from more than 62 countries who had registered to participate, indicating the high level of international attention to this issue. Speakers addressed the harm caused by digital gender-based violence in Asian countries through various approaches, including technology, legislation, and civil society advocacy and services.

Challenges in the Digital Age: Advocating for Asian Society’s Attention to Digital Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence 

With the rise of digital information, the virtual world had brought us endless possibilities, but it had also led to an increasingly serious problem: technology-facilitated gender-based violence. While technology-facilitated gender-based violence was not a new issue, it had rapidly escalated under the prevalence of COVID-19. Despite efforts by global gender violence service providers and experts to address the issue, there were significant disparities in the development process among different countries. Many Asian countries have yet to incorporate this new form of gender-based violence into their mechanisms for gender violence service and prevention. With the rapid development of technology and the online world, new forms of technology-facilitated gender-based violence continued to emerge and evolve, despite the existence of over 40 different types.

This conference aimed to call on global society to explore how gender-based violence evolved and spread in the rapidly changing digital technology landscape, affecting various social groups. It focused on seeking solutions to technology-facilitated gender-based violence and providing sufficient support to victims. To ensure that different roles in the gender violence service chain in Asia understand the current status and severity of this issue, and to enhance services centered around survivors, advocate for immediate services and preventive legal policies, and strengthen cooperation between governments, technology companies, relevant civil society groups, and women’s organizations in Asian countries, the conference design provided a diverse platform for experts in various fields of this issue to engage in dialogue, share practical knowledge for eliminating technology-facilitated gender-based violence. In addition to national reports from various countries, specific issues related to technology-facilitated gender-based violence such as online dating safety, the dissemination of sexual imagery involving minors, emerging trends in digital violence, and innovative services in various Asian countries were included. The conference also covered measures for prevention and control by technology and social media platform operators, as well as government legislation.

2023 ACWS

Bringing together 17 country experts to jointly address global technology-facilitated Gender-Based Violence Issues 

In order to ensure that diverse voices were included in this conference, a total of leaders and experts from Europe, the United States, Australia, and various Asian countries were invited to participate. The conference kicked off with a video presentation by Sarah Baird, Gender-Based Violence Specialist at the Asia and Pacific Regional Office of the United Nations Population Fund, offering a UN perspective to initiate the conference dialogue.

Keynote Speaker Sarah Baird stated in her speech: “While anyone could potentially experience violence online, the majority of victims of technology-facilitated gender-based violence were still women. What was worse was that harassment of women starting from the online realm often extended to their real-life experiences. A study in Malawi found that over one-third of women believed that the violence they experienced online eventually led to physical harm. Although some countries had improved laws regarding online safety, these laws were often ‘gender-blind,’ ignoring the specific dangers women faced online. Therefore, legislation should consider gender, especially in light of the harm women face from technology-facilitated gender-based violence. 

Sarah Baird, Gender-Based Violence Specialist at the Asia and Pacific Regional Office of the United Nations Population Fund

Additionally, research on how to effectively respond to and mitigate technology-facilitated gender-based violence was still scarce, and many service solutions were still in their initial stages. From a global perspective, solutions for technology-facilitated gender-based violence had to create a ‘viable business model.’ Algorithms themselves had no moral standards; the purpose of their existence was to increase revenue. This model encouraged young men to access more toxic content online, linking them with perpetrators of violence from around the world. To understand this issue, more research was needed, and the United Nations Population Fund was conducting many research projects and advocacy activities.”

Cooperation and Collective Efforts: Involvement of the Technology Industry and Policy Discussions 

Addressing emerging issues of technology-facilitated gender-based violence required cross-sectoral collaboration, so this conference also included sessions with technology companies and policy discussions. Prominent technology companies like Meta participated in the conference to share their measures and strategies for addressing gender-based violence on their platforms. In the policy and legal sessions, representatives from Australia, the first country to pass a digital safety law, shared the features of their law and the challenges in its implementation. Ms. Fan Yun, a legislator in Taiwan, also attended and shared Taiwan’s legislative process and achievements in addressing digital gender-based violence, providing valuable insights for both international and local industries and policymakers.

2023 Asian Conference of Women’s Shelters – Tackling Online and Technology-Facilitated Gender-based Violence in Asia

Asian Network of Women’s Shelters and the Garden of Hope Foundation are hosting the 2023 Asian Conference of Women’s Shelters, with a focus on Tackling Online and Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence in Asia from September 12 to 13 with the in-person location in Taipei and virtual venue on Zoom!

It will offer a global platform for individuals working to combat gender-based violence (GBV) in digital contexts from around the world. Participants will have the opportunity to gain insights on effective strategies to eliminate cyber GBV and ensure that service providers throughout Asia are equipped to address this issue.

The conference will cover a range of topics, including enhancing access to specialized survivor-centered support, advocating for policies that offer swift remedies to survivors, and strengthening collaboration between states, the technology sector, civil society, and women’s rights organizations. By joining forces, we can effectively respond to and prevent GBV, thereby creating a safer and more inclusive digital environment.

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Not only is the 2023 ACWS in Hybrid, but it’s also completely free of charge!

We highly recommend you register for it, below are the registration links!

In-Person Registration: https://forms.gle/K2VXTy58cfeGAzdJ6

Virtual Registration: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_TgNtxl5FQq22UWKxOzlCaQ

See you in September!

“The Best Panel I have”

The NGO CSW67 in-person parallel event – From Visible to Invisible: Asian CSOs Confronting Digital GBV hosted by the Garden of Hope Foundation and the Asian Network of Women’s Shelters received great acclamation for a successful event. With figures and story speakers shared audience from around the world learned more about challenges and outlook of technology-facilitated GBV in Asia.

Speakers from #Singapore, #HongKong, #India, #NewYork, and #Taiwan were invited to share the impact of #digitalsexualviolence in Asian countries and the Asian community in New York, and how #CSOsand governments in different countries can work together to address the issue. ✊

After the speakers’ presentations, the audience was very interested in the content of the parallel event and shared that they had gained a lot from it. They even thought it was the best session they had heard so far in NGO CSW67. 👏

We were very moved and honored, and we believed that it was extremely important and necessary to add the voice of Asia to the global community. The advocacy and speak-out for survivors in Asia and around the world will be continue.

The organizers, ANWS and GOH, would like to thank all speakers and audience for such inspirational sharing and interactive response in the event.

We Are Ready for NGO CSW67

The Asian Network of Women’s Shelters and the Garden of Hope Foundation invite speakers who will be in New York for NGO CSW67 to join us on the in-person parallel event on the 10th of March for their sharing of experience, insights, challenges and prospects. The organizer team is exciting to meet with speakers in person in NYC!

Meet our speakers:

We are looking forward to their inspirational sharings!

Like 👍 and attend this event.

We Will Be In NYC for NGO CSW67

Will we see you there?

The global women CSOs’ major event CSW67 & NGO CSW67 will take place from the 6th to the 17th of March, 2023 in New York City in the United States with a primary theme of “Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.” This year, NGO CSW67 opens in-person parallel events for organizers to apply after three years when Covid-19 first hit globally.

The Asian Network of Women’s Shelters joins with the Garden of Hope Foundation to host an in-person parallel event on the 10th of March at 10:30 a.m. EST.

Technology-facilitated and digital gender-based violence are increasing across Asia due to rapid digitization. Much of the violence women experience offline is replicated online but has evolved in more complex and diverse forms. Research from the UN indicates that survivors rarely report digital violence in fear of reprisals from perpetrators and social repercussions and a lack of confidence in the judicial process.

CSOs play crucial roles to mediate among stakeholders to tackle this issue. We invite CSOs across Asia to share their experiences, research statistics, and challenges in helping survivors, advocating for legislation reform, and online safety for women and girls.

We will be at New York City to discuss this issue. Please come join us. We will see you there.

Taiwan Experience Sharing Program 2022 for ANWS members

Asian Network of Women’s Shelters is a network aims to provide a platform to promote cross-learning between countries and regions, so capacity building is promoted at all levels to enhance effective management-skills and delivery of services in shelters.

Taiwan Experience Sharing Program 2022 is initiated by the Garden of Hope Foundation in Taiwan to echo the objective. Through cross-learning members can all learn best practices from each other and acknowledge how culture may bring subtle changes to the delivery of services in a shelter in different countries through cross-learning.

Sharing Program Calendar

19 October, 2022 @ 14:00 ~ 17:00 p.m. Taipei time, click here for your local time.

Understanding various forms of non-physical abuse in intimate relationships and studying the knowledge and modes of assisting victims of non-physical abuse and their families. Both Yu-Hua and Yu-Ju have almost 20 years of experience in social work, hear their sharing on Subjects of Non-physical Abuse in Intimate Relationship.

REGISTER

25 October, 2022 @ 14:00 ~ 17:00 p.m. Taipei time, click here for your local time.

Assisting social workers to understand the perpetrator, and learning about the methods and skills of practical work service. The sharing is by Ann from Shiuh-Li, the NGO has been focusing on perpetrator treatment for years.

REGISTER

01 November, 2022 @ 14:00 ~ 17:00 p.m. Taipei time, click here for your local time.

Understanding individual cases of intrafamilial sexual assault in family systems and physical/psychological reactions of victims of intrafamilial sexual assault; sharing of provided family interventions and treatments upon victims of intrafamilial sexual assault. Join and learn from Yu-Chia and Chia-Wen.

REGISTER

Register and mark your calendar. We look forward to seeing you online, and share and learn from each other.

Thank you all for being part of the 2022 ANWS Annual Conference

On the 2nd of September, the ANWS co-hosted the 2022 ANWS Annual Conference: Resilience: A Path Leading Women Towards Trauma Recovery with the Garden of Hope Foundation (GOH) in Taiwan addressing the theme of Relationship Repair and Resiliency. Together we would like to thank you all, including staff and everyone behind the scenes, for being part of the 2022 ANWS Annual Conference. This event would not be so successful without your participation.

In this event we were enlightened of insightful words from invited speakers joining us online from Asia, Europe, and the U.S. It was our great pleasure to have Ms. Bandana Rana, the UN CEDAW member, and the Honorable Dr. Hilda Heine, Senator of the Republic of the Marshall Islands giving us inspirational remarks. Their words of wisdom have helped show us direction and guidance towards a path of helping gendered-based violence victims on trauma recovery.

“Resilience is considered a positive personality characteristic that enhances individual adaptation. Resilience is a keyword in the world of abused family members and serves as a foundation for recovery for women facing trauma situations” as the Honorable Dr. Hilda Heine gave us during the conference. We look forward to see victims no longer be a victim but a survivor with the help of their inner strength: resiliency. Relationships may be repaired and managed for a better cause.

2022 ANWS Annual Conference Speakers Introduction

Kripa Acharya

Psychosocial Counselor @Saathi, Nepal

Education – Master, Counseling Psychology Program of Central Department, Tribhuwan University Experiences – Co-Founder – Youth Connection Center; Lecturer – K and K international College; Psycho Social Counselor – Armed Police Force School; Psychosocial Counselor – Saathi; Life Skill Education Trainer – White House World School Bio – Kripa’s focus of work and research is on Relationships, Trauma, Gender based violence, and Child and Adolescent Counseling. Her experience of working directly in the mental health sector is about 5 years. She works with the vision of creating a society with adaptation of holistic healing. She has been working with Saathi since 2019.

Anne Westcott

LICSW @SMARTMoves

Trained at Columbia University’s School of Social Work, with over 30 years of mental health experience, Anne continues to support children, adolescents, adults, caregivers, and mental health providers who have experienced or seek to help others heal from the impact of trauma and attachment disturbance. Anne formed SMARTMoves, a partnership with Dr. Liz Warner, Heather Finn and Alexandra Cook, to continue their collaborative efforts to research and training SMART a child centered full body treatment for traumatized children. Anne is certified in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, trains around the U.S. for Pat Ogden’s Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute, and supports the Institute with curriculum development.

Yu-Hua LEE

Director of Linkou Service Center @The Garden of Hope Foundation (GOH)

Experience – Director General at Social Work Counselling Office, GOH – Director at New Taipei Branch Office, GOH – New Taipei City Government Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Prevention Committee Advisor – New Taipei City Government Children and Adolescents Welfare Policy Committee Advisor

Yu-Hsin CHEN

Therapist at Linkou Service Center @The Garden of Hope Foundation (GOH)

Experience – Therapist at HOLDING SELF Counseling Center – Therapist at Community Counseling Center, National Pingtung University – Gender Advocacy Specialist at Tainan Branch Office, GOH – Council Member at Taiwan Adolescent Association on Sexualities

Hanh Thi TO

Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) Advisor @Hagar International in Vietnam

Hanh Thi To has a Master in Psychology from the Hanoi University of Social Sciences and Humanities. She has worked as a psychologist for 15 years, and today is Hagar International in Vietnam’s Trauma-Informed Care advisor. With extensive experience responding to the needs of survivors violence and abuse to receive support and access to quality services, Hanh is a leader in the field of trauma-informed care in Vietnam. She is passionate about building the knowledge, skills, capacity and commitment of frontline responders, social workers, community caregivers, to provide individuals, families and communities to take a trauma-informed approach. From 2018 to 2022, she led Trauma-Informed Care training for hudreds staffs from many agencies and presented at Asia conference on trafficking.

Dr. Bandy Lee

President @World Mental Health Coalition

Dr. Bandy Lee is a medical doctor, a forensic psychiatrist, and a world expert on violence who taught at Yale School of Medicine and Law School for 17 years before transferring recently to Columbia and Harvard. She is currently president of the World Mental Health Coalition. She served as Director of Research for the Center for the Study of Violence (Harvard, N.Y.U., Yale, etc.), co-founded Yale’s Violence and Health Study Group, and has led a project for the WHO’s Violence Prevention Alliance, help implement and support research in low- and middle-income countries. She authored the textbook “Violence: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Causes, Consequences, and Cures” and published over 100 peer-reviewed articles and chapters. The Coalition is an educational organization that assembles experts for the betterment of public mental health and public safety. Her current goals aim at educating the public on mental health matters so as to empower it through knowledge and enlightenment.

Tsai-Jung KUO

Deputy Director-General of Department of Protective Services @Ministry of Health and Welfare

Experiences 2013~Present Department of Protective Services, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taiwan 2001~2013 Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Prevention Committee, Ministry of the Interior, Taiwan 1997~2001 Department of Social Welfare, Taipei City Government, Taiwan

Shahrany Hassan

Chairperson @Casa Raudha Singapore

Shahrany Hassan is the Chairperson for Casa Raudha, an organisation that helps victims of domestic violence and is involved with the Ministry of Social and Family Development’s Alliance For Action to strengthen marriages and family relationships. Shahrany’s impactful work has earned mentions in Parliament and been featured numerous times in the media. She spent more than two decades in the corporate and government sectors where she gained extensive experience in general management with a special focus on strategic planning and execution. She is the Founder and Director of The Whitehatters; a NGO focused on community development and responsible advocacy and activism, and was recently appointed a member to the Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circle Refresh Workgroup “to develop recommendations to strengthen the IRRC’s capabilities, increase diversity among IRCC members, and to build more cohesive networks within the community”, under the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth.

Aster Isa Hendriks

Social Worker @Orange House

Born in the Netherlands and my mother raised my big brother and me on her own, because my father has a mental illness. Through my whole live it was important to learn to be independent as a woman and to stand up and take good care of myself. In 2018 I graduated as a Social Worker and started work as a Youth worker. The youth where between 12 and 24 years old who: had a change to drop out from school, going into the direction to criminal activities, and/or having trouble at home with there parents. I worked with the youth and the important persons around the youth (such as their parents, friends, school, police). While working as a Youth Worker I always focused on the safety from the youth and the whole family. I know how it is like to be in a rough situation and know how focusing on the strengths in the families can help them grow. In January 2021 I started to work at Blijf Groep as a social worker in the shelter from Blijf Groep Amsterdam.

Maria van Helbergen

Social Worker @Orange House

Born in the Netherlands. Studied Applied Psychology. Moved to South Africa in 2016 to work as a counselor with underprivileged young people living in the townships. Crime, poverty, domestic and sexual violence were topics that these young people had to deal with on a daily basis. My goal to contribute to stop violence and injustice grew day by day. After returning to the Netherlands I started working at the Blijf Groep. At the Blijf Groep I started as an outreached social worker; supporting men, women and children in their own houses. In April 2020 I started working for a pilot program in Amsterdam called Stay Safe, where I contribute with 5 other organizations besides Blijf Groep to support multi-problem families to be safe again. Since February 2022 I’m back at the Blijf Groep working at the intake team.