About
DAWEO represented one out of a small range of organizations supporting the Afghan Women Protection Centers (WPCs) known as shelters. DAWEO was initially established as a local office of the Danish NGO Danner, which has worked with VAW survivors for more than 35 years through shelter activities and political policy work in Denmark. In 2012. Danner began its work in Afghanistan by partnering with the country’s most progressive women’s rights organizations, which together ran the 26 WPCs in Afghanistan. Over time, the necessity of a closer working relationship and linkage to state actors to ensure a more holistic approach to bettering the service delivery for female survivors of VAW in Afghanistan became clear. In 2015, DAWEO initiated cooperation with state entities by providing training to ministry staff (Ministry of Hajj and Ministry of Women’s Affairs and later with Ministry of Interior and Hajj) and by facilitating dialogue and cooperation between civil society and authorities through joint strategic meetings on VAW.