Challenge
The Consell Comarcal de l’Anoia faced the challenge of developing a County Plan for Equality and for Affective, Sexual and Gender Diversity, with the aim of ensuring continuity and strengthening actions related to gender equality and LGTBIQ+ policies across the territory. Some municipalities in the county were already implementing relevant initiatives in these areas; however, there was still room for improvement in several aspects. These included designing actions that are feasible, realistic and proportionate to the available resources (especially considering small municipalities); incorporating concrete evaluation indicators that are easy to obtain in order to enable continuous monitoring and assessment; and resuming training activities on gender perspective and LGTBIQ+ issues, among others.
This is the context in which the County Plan for Equality and for Affective, Sexual and Gender Diversity in Anoia was developed. The plan aims to contribute to the promotion of equality and diversity and to the eradication of sexist and LGTBI-phobic violence, ensuring that all people can live in safety and freedom.
Response
The County Plan for Equality and for Affective, Sexual and Gender Diversity in Anoia was developed through a participatory process involving the main stakeholders from the County Council, municipalities, citizens, as well as organisations and facilities across the territory.
The Plan is divided into three sections:
Diagnosis of needs and challenges related to gender equality and LGTBIQ+ issues in the county. The diagnosis was carried out through quantitative methods (an online questionnaire open to all citizens) and qualitative methods (interviews and focus groups).
Action Plan, which includes the measures that the County Council will promote during the four years of the Plan’s implementation. The actions are organised into seven areas: Commitment to Equality; Sexist and LGTBI-phobic Violence; Quality of Life; Work and the Democratisation of Care; Education and Youth; Public Space; and Participation. For each action, the responsible and involved stakeholders, timeline, need for additional budget, and monitoring and evaluation indicators are defined.
Monitoring and Evaluation of the Plan, which presents the follow-up process. For this purpose, a Commission will be created that will meet periodically to review the actions implemented and to carry out the planned and agreed evaluation process.