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Winter Collection with a Special action: supporting Garance asbl

Our special action this season supports the Association of Garance, a Belgium-based organization dedicated to teaching self-defense and prevention training for women, as well as providing education for professionals who work with survivors of violence.


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Why we chose Garance

At the heart of Garance’s mission is a simple but powerful belief: every woman has the right to feel safe and confident in her daily life.Garance has been active in Belgium for years, offering empowerment-based self-defense workshops that help women of all backgrounds reclaim their sense of safety and strength. They also run training sessions for social workers, teachers, and community leaders, equipping them with tools to prevent and respond to gender-based violence more effectively. Their holistic approach — combining self-defense skills, awareness, and education — deeply resonates with our own values of confidence, empowerment, and community care.


Why this matters

Violence against women remains a widespread issue across Europe and beyond. Many women still feel unsafe walking alone, working late, or navigating public spaces. By supporting Garance, we aim to contribute to a world where safety, dignity, and self-confidence are the norm, not the exception.


What is the issue in Belgium?

According to the EU-GBV survey (2020-21) via the Institut pour l’égalité des femmes et des hommes, 1 in 3 people have been victims of partner (or ex-partner) violence at some point in their lives. In addition, 50% of women victims of partner violence experience at least two forms of violence (physical, sexual, psychological) and that 70% of women victims of sexual violence by a partner also experienced psychological and physical violence.

Also, almost 31.3% of women in Belgium have been victims of partner violence at some point in their lives.

There are marked regional disparities: For partner violence, about 24.7% of women in Flanders report having been victims, 33.7% in Brussels, and 42.5% in Wallonia.

In terms of violence outside intimate partnerships: around 11.5% of Belgian women say they have experienced some form of sexual violence at least once; 5.4% say they have been victim of (attempted) rape.

Additionally, vulnerability increases exposure: for example, among women in poor health, unemployed, or financially precarious, up to 45% reported sexual violence by a partner, compared with ~7.6% for the general female population.

These numbers show that violence against women is not rare—it is systemic, and certain groups are especially vulnerable (women in precarious economic situations, women with disabilities, migrant women, older women etc). Garance’s focus on prevention, empowerment and working with marginalised groups hits directly at the root of these issues.



How Garance is tackling this

Garance uses a multi-pronged strategy to respond:

  1. Workshops & Training

    • Self-defence and verbal defence workshops for women and gender minorities (cis, trans, non-binary) of all ages and physical conditions.

    • Tailored workshops for women with disabilities, racialised women, migrant women, older women (55+), etc. These workshops emphasise accessibility: e.g., the venue is equipped with a magnetic induction loop system (for hearing) in some cases. The approach is adapted: they encourage participants to “develop their resources of action … prevent violence and get a critical analysis of the social and political realities that make violence possible”.

    • "Peer-animator" training: Garance trains women from specific vulnerable groups (e.g., migrant background) so that they can lead workshops for their peers. For example: A project to train 12 new peer-animators who will reach ~750 participants and 550 migrant women in self-defence courses over 3 years.

  2. Research, analysis

    • Garance conducts analyses on gender-based violence causes, risk factors, publishes guides and uses the results to inform its trainings.

    • For example: they emphasise that violence is preventable and that structural factors (patriarchy, racism, ableism, capitalism) play a role.

  3. Prevention & education

    • In schools: work with children, school staff, parents to address violence in early years.

    • For professionals: train staff who work with survivors or people in precarious conditions (social workers, educators, shelter staff) so that prevention and early intervention is enhanced.

  4. Greater reach & inclusion

    • Ensuring organisations collaborate with shelters, asylum-seeker centres, literacy groups, institutions for people with disabilities — working to reach those who are often left out.

    • Work specifically on undervalued groups: e.g., women with intellectual disabilities leading workshops in their institutions (see 2022-23 project).


How your purchase helps

With every item from our Winter Collection, 4 eur/piece will go directly to Garance to fund their self-defense workshops and prevention programs. Your purchase helps:

  • Provide free or low-cost training for women and girls in vulnerable situations.

  • Support educational sessions for professionals who work to prevent violence.

  • Expand Garance’s outreach across Belgium, allowing more communities to benefit.#


Explore the Winter Collection — and join us in supporting Garance.


Sources:

Garance Official Website: https://www.garance.be/

Institut pour l’égalité des femmes et des hommes (IEFH / IGVM): https://igvm-iefh.belgium.be/fr/themes/violences/violences-entre-ex-partenaires/chiffres


 
 
 

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