Sophie Beria – Women Deliver
2020

Sophie Beria

  • Age: 29
  •    |   She/her/hers, They/them/their

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Your silence will not protect you.

- Sophie Beria

Bio

Sophie is a human rights specialist with a master’s degree in Human Rights Studies from Lund University, currently based in Sweden. Having worked with vulnerable populations on grassroots, local, regional and international levels for 8+ years, their main areas of expertise lie in women’s rights, queer migration, sexual and reproductive health rights and digital security. Their past work experiences focused on advocacy, partnership building and project management. Sophie was the chairperson of YouAct – European Youth Network on Sexual and Reproductive Rights between 2018 and 2022. They also served as a consultant for various Human Rights organizations, such as the Georgian Union of PLHIV – Real People Real vision, Share-net International, World YWCA, the Public Defender of Georgia and AWID. Currently, Sophie works as the International Program Manager at RFSL, the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights. They are also a board member of LundaPride.

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What ignited your pursuit for gender equality?

The deep-rooted shame and stigma that the patriarchal society of Georgia attributed to anything and everything related to the female experience. I remember my 7th-grade biology teacher skipping the textbook chapter on anatomy, considering it vulgar and inappropriate. But that is just one out of the numerous daily experiences of growing up in a post-Soviet, post-war, highly patriarchal country under transition, where gender equality seemed to be at the bottom of everyone's priorities.

Please share your biggest wins as an advocate for gender equality.

I've been a part of many wonderful projects, but the one I consider my biggest win has to be the co-creation of the first website on comprehensive sexuality education in Georgia: www.allaboutyou.ge. The platform is made entirely by young people for young people and currently houses more than 100 articles on everything from menstruation information to STIs and gender-based violence. The website quickly transformed into an interactive advocacy tool with hundreds of readers reaching out to us with questions and requests daily. I consider this platform as my biggest contribution to my community thus far.

Outside of your gender equality advocacy work, what do you enjoy doing?

Currently, my biggest hobbies are running and hiking. I also enjoy thrifting, photography, and cooking. On colder evenings, I spend my time at home, practicing Swedish or reading about Queer cultural history.

Languages Spoken:

  • English (Advanced/Native)
  • Georgian (Advanced/Native)
  • Russian (Advanced/Native)
  • German (Intermediate)
  • French (Elementary)

Publications:

Speaks On:

  • CSE
  • queer migration
  • grassroots mobilizing

Past Awards, Certifications, or Fellowships:

  • Visby Scholarship holder from the Swedish Institute (2020)
  • Certificate of Recognition - Training for Trainers in Advocacy for Sexual and Reproductive Rights
  • Certificate - Training for Healthcare Specialists and Psychologists about Transgender Identity and Gender Dysphoria from the Perspective of Clinical Sexology
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