Envisioning a World Free of Violence

EmpowerVan Greece

Context

Greece is one of the main entry points for women fleeing conflict, persecution and instability. But instead of finding safety, many arrive having already endured violence on their journey—and face new risks once they reach overcrowded camps and unstable living conditions. Reports show that 90% of women arriving in Greece have experienced sexual harassment, highlighting the urgent need for protection, support and trusted spaces. In this challenging environment, EmpowerVan works directly within communities to help women rebuild safety, dignity and connection.

Our Programmatic Activities

  • A group of women at an indoor rock climbing gym listening to a woman in black explain something. The gym has climbing walls with holds in bright colors. The women stand on padded mats.

    Empowerment Self Defense Seminars

    Holistic self-defense from body to mind.

    We teach seminars based on the principles of empowerment and self-defense. There we look at a variety of subjects from ways of speech to coping mechanisms, intuition practices as well as physical self-defense techniques. This course gives the participants an insight on self-defense techniques and allows them to directly transform previous knowledge into action.​

  • Ten people standing outdoors facing a white wall, holding up wooden plaques, with trees and a streetlamp illuminating the scene in the background.

    Camp Classes

    Practice what we preach.

    We teach weekly physical self-defense classes just outside of the refugee camps surrounding Athens. These classes primarily focus on internalizing and improving the learned techniques of defense in order to be able to properly execute them in case of emergency. Here we set a big focus on deescalation as a first resource. We include people from all sport and age backgrounds.

  • Group of people sitting on black gym mats in a martial arts gym, with one instructor standing near punching bags and boxing rings, in front of a colorful mural.

    Courses for Humanitarian Aid Workers.

    Creating safe environments.

    In order to create safe environments both for people on the move and aid workers, we facilitate de-escalation, self-care and self-defense workshops for those working in the front lines. From volunteers, legal aid workers to social workers, we are driven to support those at the front in creating a safer environment for them and their clients.

A young woman with braided hair and dark skin wearing headphones and a black Nike t-shirt outdoors in a wooded area, smiling at the camera.

“It's very important for me as a woman to feel safe, therefore taking the self-defense classes are important for me to feel that sense of security”


— Ruvi, Course Participant