2020
Marie Sønderholm
- Age: 31
- | She/her/hers
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To leave no one behind, we must recoqnize people as agents in their own situations and protection by putting people at the center and ensuring their participation in activities and decision-making processes directly affecting their lives.
- Marie Sønderholm
Bio
Marie Sønderholm was born and raised in Denmark. She received a Master of International Security and Law from the University of Southern Denmark in 2018. As a Protection, Gender, and Inclusion Advisor at the Danish Red Cross, Marie is responsible for providing technical support to the Danish Red Cross’ international operation on how to analyze and address gender, age, disability, and diversity-specific risks. In this role, she assures that assistance activities also address protection needs through ensuring the dignity, access, participation, and safety of affected people and works with promoting community-based protection approaches that engage communities in a more systematic way throughout the project cycle.
What ignited your pursuit for gender equality?
Meeting girls, young women, and women living in daily fear of violence, abuse, or exploitation with limited or no access to education or livelihood, severely hampering their psychosocial well-being, hope, and prospects of a better future, inspired my fight for gender equality.
Please share your biggest wins as an advocate for gender equality.
I led a protection assessment in South Sudan. A group of girls highlighted how young females are being isolated and are unable to access school during menstruation, resulting in school dropouts and consequently early and enforced marriages. Support and awareness on menstrual hygiene management is now being incorporated into the project.
Outside of your gender equality advocacy work, what do you enjoy doing?
In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with friends, going out for dinner to try new food, singing, yoga, and going for long walks and shorter runs.
Languages Spoken:
- Danish (Advanced/Native)
- English (Advanced/Native)
Speaks On:
- community-based protection approaches
- gender and inclusion mainstreaming in humanitarian interventions
- international humanitarian law
Past Awards, Certifications, or Fellowships:
- Protection, Gender and Inclusion in Emergencies Training for Specialized Surge Personnel (IFRC)
- Humanitarian Mediation Induction Training from Danish Red Cross
