CARRYING ON OUR MISSION WITH RESOLVE
Since the Foundation’s inception, our mission has been to support women impacted by violence. We act with key partners to achieve real change: supporting survivor-centered services, implementing programs to promote gender-equality with the youth and mobilizing our networks to join this combat.
SUPPORTING SURVIVORS
For women in different countries, cultures and situations to access the support they need, we partner with a cross-section of local experts. Survivor organizations providing frontline support at a nationwide level; specialized services addressing specific gender violence issues such as Female Genital Mutilation; Women’s Funds who support grassroots initiatives; and finally innovators of alternative models that can be scaled up: such as open-source online tools.
La Maison des femmes de Saint-Denis, Partner since 2014
La Maison des femmes de Saint-Denis is the first French comprehensive center for women that provides access to 60 professionals including doctors, social workers and lawyers offering tailored support across four units: domestic violence, sexual abuse and rape, family planning, and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
More than 15,000 consultations were conducted at La Maison des femmes de Saint-Denis in 2021.
CHANGING BEHAVIORS AND ATTITUDES TO BREAK THE CYCLE OF VIOLENCE
In order to break the intergenerational cycle of violence, we address its root causes. The Kering Foundation supports programs that work with the youth, and in particular boys and men, in transforming harmful gender norms and attitudes, to promote gender equality.
We also partner with organizations that work with those most vulnerable to violence, as well as victims of sexual abuse and incest. In the US, men exposed to physical or sexual abuse as children are almost 4 times more likely to perpetrate domestic violence as adults. By focusing on young victims, our prevention partners seek to protect women and children by shifting learned behaviors to end patterns of abuse.
"For me these violent acts had always been normal, since it was what I had learned at home. Here I realized that they were actually violent behaviors. Fellow group members taught me how to resolve conflict.”
— Beneficiary of Gendes, a Kering Foundation partner since 2018
TAKING COLLECTIVE ACTION TO STAND AGAINST VIOLENCE
Through the efforts of its networks and collective action, the Kering Foundation works to achieve a lasting shift in behavior patterns and greater awareness of violence against women.
Accordingly, in 2011 it developed an in-house program to create a safe and supportive working environment for victims of violence. The Kering Foundation has already trained more than 1,900 Kering Group employees on understanding, listening to and helping victims of domestic violence, in partnership with expert organizations. It has also launched the Global Policy on Domestic Violence, in coordination with the Group’s Human Resources Department in 2021. This policy guarantees confidential and tailored support to any person employed by Kering or its Houses. Support measures include direct referral to specialist organizations, flexible working hours, special leave and financial help.
Externally, the Foundation seeks to mobilize others to join its efforts. In 2018, the Kering Foundation and FACE Foundation co-founded One In Three Women, the first European network of companies committed to combating violence against women. To date, the network currently has 15 members alongside FACE and the Kering Foundation to implement concrete measures, including the adoption of a corporate policy, the release of a toolkit, and trainings on the impact of domestic violence.
In addition, Kering was selected as a Leader of the Action Coalition on Gender-based Violence at the Generation Equality Forum, organized by UN Women in 2021. The Foundation pursues this commitment by organizing discussions and workshops with other companies to share best practices within the private sector to combat domestic violence in the workplace.