The member organisation of the Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) Institute of Applied Psychology “Alpha”, is continuing the implementation of the initiative “Supporting teenage girls to overcome social and economic problems”.
The activity in line was a lecture with mothers and students of the primary school “Motrat Qiriazi” in Prizren, who belong to the Turkish community. Participants were informed on breaking down barriers between mothers and daughters about addressing topics often considered taboo, recognising the consequences of this lack of communication, and the role of mothers in preventing sexual harassment and gender-based violence in adolescent girls.
The project coordinator, Melihate Juniku, opened the meeting emphasizing the importance of this lecture.
“The topic is very important to help young girls easily overcome the social and economic problems they may encounter during adolescence. We thank you for your interest, and KWN for supporting the initiative,” she said.
The trainer, Onur Kovaç, encouraged participating mothers to discuss openly with their children about sex education, paying attention to sexual harassment.
“Studies have shown that educating children about sexuality does not increase or encourage sexual activity but helps and safely sends the child, and tomorrow the adult, towards positive, fair and safe actions, which affect their present and future”, he said.
He also added that it is important for young people to pay attention to their health, avoiding fast food and with uncontrolled quality, and engaging in cultural and sports activities. In the end, the students were introduced to some therapeutic techniques for managing the changes of adolescence, such as: deep breath, muscle relaxation, meditation technique, etc.
Participating mothers expressed the desire that such meetings be organised more often, in order to be able to give their children the proper care and attention.
This initiative is funded by the Austrian Development Agency and co-financed by the Swedish International Cooperation and Development Agency, through the Swedish Embassy in Prishtina, in the framework of KWN’s initiative “Further Advancement of Women’s Rights in Kosova II”.
