Violence against children can take up many forms. The negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic are specifically worse for children in vulnerable contexts, whose specific needs regarding gender-based violence can be overseen in the current context of social and economic crisis. This is the reason why the project Colourful Childhoods focuses on violence against LGBTIQ children in vulnerable contexts. Colourful Childhoods aims at preventing and combating all forms of violence against LGBTIQ children in vulnerable contexts related to the Covid-19 pandemic. A child-centred perspective and intersectional approach will be key to increase children’s empowerment, as well as their resilience.

The project’s aims will be achieved through a mix of interdisciplinary methodology and a participatory approach, in a 4-stage process. In stage 1, the project will develop a needs assessment of violence and well-being of LGBTIQ children in each country involved in the project. Stage 2 will deal with workshops with children in those participant countries where it is legally allowed, and with addressing the experiences of services providers and professionals. After stage 2, guidelines and a training curriculum for professionals will be elaborated. In stage 3, the project will train 400 professionals through synchronic trainings, and a new module in an existing Massive Open Online Course will be created to expand training to 200 more professionals. Also, a permanent and transdisciplinary seminar for professionals will be created in all the participant countries. Finally, in stage 4 a dissemination strategy will be put in place in order to maximise the project results, outputs, and raise awareness towards the general population about violence against LGBTIQ children in vulnerable contexts. The project will end with a final conference in Madrid to present and discuss project results with professionals, decision makers, and activists, as well as with children, also invited at the event.

The project will be implemented by: the University of Girona (coordinator, Spain), The National LGBT rights organization Lithuanian Gay League (LGL, Lithuania), Bilitis (Bulgaria), Syndicate “Education” (ETUP, Bulgaria), the Centre for Social Studies (CES, Portugal), Háttér Society (HS, Hungary), Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (URJC, Spain), and the University of Palermo (UNIPA, Italy).

C-Child National Report. Lithuania, 2023

The project is implemented with the financial support of the CERV-2021-DAPHNE Programme of the European Union.