Empowering Youth Leaders: LAYERS Workshop Tackles Online Gender-Based Violence in Athens

As digital tools become central to youth engagement, civil society organizations (CSOs) face a highly complex digital landscape. To build resilient protective frameworks, LAYERS project partners gathered in Athens for an intensive two-day Capacity Building Workshop for Organizational Leaders. 

Co-funded by the European Union under the LAYERS project, the event was led by expert trainers from KMOP Education and Innovation Hub and CARDET, between 9-11^th June, at KMOP Headquarters in Piraeus. The initiative equips regional leaders with the structural tools needed to transition from reactive crisis management into proactive, survivor-centered systems. 

The workshop opened with alarming field data from the Western Balkans. Research revealed that while youth digital immersion is near-universal, fewer than 30% of surveyed organizations possess written Online Gender-Based Violence (OGBV) policies or formal referral pathways. Furthermore, a deep-rooted cultural normalization of online harassment as “humor” routinely minimizes survivor trauma. 

Using the newly developed LAYERS Gender Lens Analysis Handbook, participants conducted comprehensive policy audits to address internal structural blind spots. Leaders also navigated emerging digital threats, exploring how generative AI replicates inequality, including algorithmic bias in recruitment tools and the alarming rise of deepfake smear campaigns weaponized against female professionals. Moving forward, participating organizations committed to localized Action Plans to ensure a lasting institutional shift toward digital equity. 

LAYERS project aims to empower youth workers and organizations across the Western Balkans to effectively combat online gender-based violence (OGBV) by enhancing their capacities, fostering cross-border exchange of best practices, and raising awareness on this critical issue.

To learn more about the project’s upcoming activities, resources, and tools, please visit the official LAYERS project website and follow us on Facebook.