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Newsletter: NWP FOCUS
News from the Network Women's Program
Issue 2, 2000

Inside this Issue:
1. Program on Violence
2. Lesbian/Gay Efforts
3. Upcoming Events
4. Breast Cancer Program
5. Mission Statement
6. Human Rights Fellows
7. Youth Debate
8. Roma Priorities
9. Women & Poverty
10. Translating Gender
11. 1999 Education Grants
12. Kosovo Crisis
13. Beijing Plus 5
14. NWP Russia
15. Gender Studies
16. 1999 Publishing Library Core Collections
17. Regional Contacts
18. Initiatives of NWP


1. Program Area Highlight: Violence Against Women

Violence against women and domestic violence are largely under-documented in post-communist countries, due to government inaction and the lack of resources available to non-governmental institutions. Women are generally unaware of their legal and human rights, while at the same time laws and legal procedures do not adequately protect them.

In 1999, the Network Women's Program launched three major initiatives to encourage and support the development of a regional response to violence against women. These initiatives include (i) an intervention training program, Community Coordinated Response to Domestic Violence-the Duluth Model, (ii) a Service Support Exchange Program to strengthen NGOs responding to violence against women, and (iii) a small grants program to support NGOs combating trafficking in women, as a follow-up to the 1998 Transnational Training Seminar on Trafficking in Women, in Budapest.


Community Coordinated Response on Domestic Violence - the Duluth Model

In many economically transitional countries at present, there is no official women-friendly procedure for dealing with battered, raped and abused women who turn to the police, legal and/or healthcare systems for help. It is therefore crucial to train law enforcers, legal and medical personnel, and peer advocates to understand the issues surrounding violence against women.

In November 1999, the NWP introduced a new training program--the Community Coordinated Response to Violence Against Women (the Duluth Model) based on the internationally acclaimed Duluth Domestic Abuse Intervention Project (DAIP), to respond to violence against women.

Initially designed in the U.S. in 1977, the DAIP created a community response to assault cases. The significance of a community response to violence against women is that violence should be prevented and responded to systematically by community agencies, to avoid placing the responsibility of stopping violence on the victim. In the Duluth model, women's advocacy groups play an essential role in working with policy makers, legislators, and agency directors to redesign the criminal justice system to appropriately respond to women who experience domestic violence.

In collaboration with OSI national foundations, NWP supported multi-sector national teams from 20 countries to improve the effectiveness of intervention in domestic assault-related cases. Teams were made up of women's NGO activists, practitioners in the criminal and civil justice system (police officers, prosecutors, probation officers, judges), human service providers (counselors, psychologists, group facilitators), and policy-making community leaders. The trainers of the program were Ellen Pence, a co-founder of the Domestic Abuse Intervention Project; Minnesota Congressman Michael Paymar, an active member of the DAIP; and Loretta Frederick, an attorney for the Battered Women's Justice Project.

Six months after the training, 16 national team representatives from Armenia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, and Yugoslavia participated in a follow-up seminar to present their national strategy plans to combat domestic violence, based on the Duluth Model, and to discuss their accomplishments, problems, and country-specific needs.

The national teams chose diverse methods of combating violence: the Bulgarian team is working with their regional police department; the Kazakstan team collaborated with their government to organise a conference on domestic violence and prepared a policy paper on legislative changes; the Croatian team advocated for a new domestic violence law; and the Kyrgyzstan team informed women MPs about domestic violence issues.

Reflecting on the significance of the Duluth trainings, one Bulgarian team participant recognised that "in order to achieve success in our activities [of combating violence against women], we must use the strength of uniting institutions and social service groups, as well as advocacy for legislative change".

Among the many obstacles to providing appropriate responses to violence, noted participants, is the lack of rehabilitation programs for men who batter. A Lithuanian team participant plans to counteract this problem: "[w]e got a lot of new ideas and gained inspiration on how to modify our activities in the field of eliminating violence against women-such as coming up with alternatives to imprisoning offenders."

In the year 2000, the country teams will continue to work together on sustainable collaborative projects to address the pervasive and complex problem of violence against women.


Seven key components of the Duluth Model:

  1. Creating a coherent philosophical approach to victim safety
  2. Developing "best practice" policies and protocols for intervention agencies
  3. Enhancing networking among service providers
  4. Building/monitoring a supportive community infrastructure for battered women
  5. Providing sanctions against and rehabilitation opportunities for abusers
  6. Undoing the harmful effects violence against women has on children
  7. Evaluating, from the victim's perspective, the coordinated community response

Service Support Exchange Program

As visibility of the situation of violence against women in the OSI network countries increases, NGOs are initiating programs to respond to the problem.

NWP's Service Support Exchange Program for women's NGOs encourages learning and collaboration among NGOs combating violence against women in the region. In 1999, 13 countries participated in the NWP Host-Visitor Exchange Program, which allowed experienced NGOs to share with newer organizations their knowledge and expertise about issues of violence against women and services offered for survivors of violence.

The program provided practical and hands-on education for visitor NGOs who learned how to open and sustain crisis centers, set-up hotlines, or develop effective communication with the police, and governmental and legal institutions. Participants visited local crisis centers and shelters in order to learn how to train staff on violence issues, provide psychotherapeutic care, handle financial difficulties, collaborate with other institutions, and run workshops on patterns of violence and survival strategies.

In follow-up seminars, presentations, and working groups, the participants addressed many of the central issues surrounding violence against women, including women's human rights, children's issues, and dealing with violent men. Participants analyzed common social-psychological mechanisms that perpetuate violence, as well as the role of governmental institutions, mass media, and the international community in fighting against it. Participants agreed that establishing collaboration among municipal, legal, educational, and medical representatives who work with survivors of violence is a benchmark of success.

The following NGOs served as Hosts of the Visitors:

  • Animus Association, Sofia, Bulgaria
  • NANE, Women Together Against Violence, Budapest, Hungary
  • National Center Against Violence, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
  • St. Petersburg Psychological Center for Women, Russia
  • Arzamas Women's Crisis Center, Russia
  • Shelter for Women & Children Victims of Violence, Belgrade, Yugoslavia.

Following the exchange program, 17 participating NGOs received grants for their national projects addressing violence against women. In the year 2000, NWP and fifteen national women's programs will devote over half a million dollars to support multiple approaches that address violence against women.


Trafficking in women

As the economic situation for women in post communist countries becomes increasingly dire, trafficking in women for sexual and labor exploitation is rising. Poverty is a precondition for trafficking. Women, desperate for work, migrate abroad, without knowing the actual conditions of their labor. Traffickers prey on women's desperation and force them into prostitution or forced labor.

NGOs are responding to trafficking in multiple ways, including educating the public about the risks of trafficking through media and public outreach campaigns; providing psychological, medical, and legal assistance to trafficked women; targeting legislative bodies to promote anti-trafficking laws and regulations; and working toward improving the economic and social status of women living in transitional economies.

In 1999, the NWP provided small grants to 22 NGOs working on anti-trafficking campaigns. The grant program also supported three international trainings for NGOs with La Strada, an anti-trafficking NGO in Poland, Ukraine and the Netherlands.

The trainings focused on the legal, social, economic, and migration aspects of the problem. Participants learned practical skills to help them organize anti-trafficking campaigns; work with the mass media, police, and other state agencies; and provide education to girls and women at risk for trafficking.

Anti-Trafficking Grant Recipients, 1999

  • Reflexsione (Albania)
  • Center for Development of Civil Societies / Scientific Women Council (Armenia)
  • Animus (Bulgaria)
  • Praeties Pedos (Lithuania)
  • Women's Center of Republic of Macedonia
  • Lublin project, Bialystok project, and La Strada -Warsaw (Poland)
  • Equal Opportunities for Women, and Society for Children and Parents (Romania)
  • Petersburg Center for Gender Studies, Irkutsk Crisis Center for Women "Angara", Moscow Center for Gender Studies, Agency for Social Information, FALTA Centre, and Legal Aid Society for Domestic Violence and Sexual Cases (Russia)
  • La Strada -Kyiv, Women's Initiative Center; Zinochna Hromada; Donetsk City Public Women's NGO "Venus"; and Kirovohrad Regional Informational Service (Ukraine)


2. Fellow Initiates Lesbian/Gay Efforts

OSI Policy Fellow, Miriam Molnár, is breaking new ground for both OSI and Eastern Europe in her recent policy report on lesbian and gay issues in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia.

In her report, Molnár assesses the climates of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia in relation to lesbians and gays by revealing: (i) law and governmental policy, including initiatives of and resistance to domestic partnership and adoption laws; (ii) the presence or absence of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) organizations; (iii) the level of activity of the LGBT movement, using lesbian and gay publications, radio programs, meeting places, film festivals, and other cultural activities as indicators; and (iv) positive and negative (chiefly the latter) perceptions of lesbians and gays in mainstream media.

Molnár proposes strategic solutions, including measurements of success and sustainability, to many of the problems she uncovered. As part of her fellowship, Molnár recommended the following next steps:

  • Create a "Virtual Central-Eastern European LGBT Center" on the Internet
  • Establish a think tank to write responses to homophobic media release
  • Establish a "LGBT Community House" as a way to emphasize the existence of LGBT in society
  • Organize a CEE Conference on LGBT issues in the region
  • Support research on the social status of LGBT people and levels of homophobia within the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia
  • Encourage secondary schools and higher educational institutions to integrate LGBT issues into the curriculum
  • Organize a summer school to train teachers about discrimination against LGBT people
  • Encourage law and sociology students to work on LGBT discrimination cases
  • Organize competitions for poetry and prose on LGBT themes
  • Encourage publication of books with LGBT themes

The success of Molnár's work prompted OSI to renew her fellowship funding in order to expand her regional focus. Molnár will now broaden her report to include Romania, Poland and Slovenia. Dagmara Baraniewska, Women's Program Director at the Stefan Batory Foundation, served as one of Molnár's mentors.

More recently, Molnár collaborated with the Center for Publishing Development in Budapest to create the 1999 Lesbian & Gay Issues Translation Project Competition, a pilot program aimed at translating books into local languages to raise public awareness of lesbian and gay issues.


3. Upcoming Events

June 5-9 Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace
for the 21st Century, The 23rd Special Session of the UN
General Assembly; New York, USA
November 3-5 CEU/NWP Oral History Workshop; Budapest, Hungary
December 4-9 Schweitzer Breast Cancer Policy Seminar; Budapest, Hungary


4. Breast Cancer Program Aids Rural Moldovan Women

In 1999, the Soros Foundation-Moldova Women's Program supported a pilot project investigating the problem of breast cancer among rural Moldovan women. The goal of the project was to create a national report, known as the Breast Cancer Country Report, on the current status and incidence of breast cancer in Moldova, as well as create awareness among women about prevention and treatment options.

From March to May 1999, a team comprised of members of the Oncology Institute, Mammologists Association, and other gynecological and ultrasound professionals, conducted investigations into the health of 1500 women from the villages of Rezeni and Cegirleni using portable mammography units and clinical examinations.

Dr. Nadejda M. Godoroja, a leader of the team and chief of the mammology department of the Institute of Oncology of the Republic of Moldova, noted that the situation of rural women's health is dire. The sharp increase in breast cancer incidences among rural women (32.6%) is now almost equal to the incidences of urban women (35.6%). The report indicates that since 1990, the incidence of breast cancer tripled in women between ages 25-29 (from 3.2% to 15.8%), doubled for women between 30-34 (from 9.6% to 22.9%), and doubled for women 35-39 (from 27.2% to 62.2%).

The team studied 212 risk factors associated with the high rate of breast cancer, including genetic, social, reproductive, constitutional, and hormonal factors. They found that there was no single factor determining breast cancer risk, but a complexity of factors. However, the report found that the region with the highest incidence of breast cancer (40%) was affected by a radioactive spill.

Godoroja explains that the startlingly high death rate is in part due to women's low level of access to medical facilities. She writes, "The increase in the total mortality of women...in our country suggests that many patients do not consult a physician due to their financial difficulties and therefore die at home without being diagnosed...Clinical screenings would prevent 300-400 breast cancer deaths per year." Godoroja concludes that the most practical and effective way to reduce the number of advanced cases of breast cancer is to organize clinical and instrumental screenings. However, the success of the screenings depends upon having trained specialists, up-to-date technical equipment, exams that are available and accessible, and an interest by women in receiving exams. Godoroja further observes that due to Moldova's overall financial crisis, screenings and treatment will only be possible on a widespread basis if outside funding is secured from international relief organizations.

Moldova is one of 13 OSI national foundations that participated in the Breast Cancer Country Report project. As a follow-up to this project, a seminar concerning women and cancer will be organized in December 2000 with the Public Health Program through the Schweitzer Seminar Series. The seminar will bring together doctors and policy-makers to focus on creating policy-oriented strategies to battle breast cancer, based on the findings in the Breast Cancer Country Reports.


5. NWP Mission Statement

The mission of the Network Women's Program is to promote the advancement of women's human rights, equality and empowerment as an integral part of the process of democratization. Open societies cannot exist without measurable and accountable respect for gender equity and diversity. The NWP serves as a resource, partner, and consultancy body for the Soros network, including OSI leadership, national foundations, other network-wide and international programs, as well as other entities inside and outside the Soros network, to encourage, support, and initiate gender-inclusive projects.

The NWP seeks to:

  • Eradicate violations of women's rights
  • Develop nonsexist inclusive policies at the international, regional, national and local levels
  • Raise awareness of issues of gender and diversity through education, advocacy, and research
  • Promote local, national, regional, and international cooperation and linkages among women's organizations which oppose gender discrimination and work for women's empowerment
  • Encourage access of the regions' women to women's activities internationally and to resources available to countries in transition
  • Support women's contributions to advancing alternative solutions to social and political crises


6. Human Rights Fellows Make Strides for Women

By December, 1999, 103 fellows completed the training phase of NWP's Human Rights Advanced Leadership Training for Women (HRALTW) initiative. The training program, conducted by Women, Law and Development International and Human Rights Watch was based on the manual, Women's Human Rights Step by Step. The manual presents definitions, human rights instruments and mechanisms, and methodologies for documenting and monitoring women's human rights.

Participants planned and implemented a team-based strategy to promote or defend women's human rights in their countries of origin which included: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Georgia, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Macedonia, Mongolia, Poland, Russia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Yugoslavia. Strategy subjects included discrimination in the labor market, sexual harassment in the workplace, violence against women, and increasing the visibility of women's human rights.

Many teams successfully used local media to raise awareness of their chosen issue. The Lithuanian team published an article in a national newspaper claiming that the new law on equal opportunities passed in the Lithuanian Seimas (Parliament) did not adequately address discrimination of women in the labor market. The team stressed that the reality for women in Lithuania is that they are "considered too old at 35 [to be employed]; the qualities of physical attractiveness are often preferred over skills, experience and qualifications; they are often coerced by their employers to sign declarations stating they will not get pregnant during their time of employment; and are faced by newspapers overloaded with gender discriminating adds." The article generated multiple responses and sparked a national discussion on women's human rights.

The Macedonian team formed a women's human rights watch group that conducted the first successful media campaign and lawsuit against sexual harassment in the workplace. This precedent created a positive environment for enforcement of the anti-sexual harassment law.

Central Asian teams noted that until the training, women's human rights issues were not raised in their countries. Consequently, their team conducted seminars and informational roundtables to increase the general awareness of women's human rights.

The Turkmenistan team created a women's information center to help inform women of their rights. They plan to increase the services of the center to provide information on children's rights and domestic violence.

While teams focused on their countries of origin, some Roma women's issues transcend national boundaries and more broadly focused strategies were needed. Roma women's activist Nicoletta Bitu addressed the need for Roma women to participate in decision-making processes that create governmental Roma policy in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia and Spain.

Many participants said that prior to the training, they assumed only lawyers could use national and international laws to advocate for women's human rights. While implementing the country strategies, many realized that as NGO leaders, they have the knowledge and tools to advocate successfully for women. A Bulgarian participant commented, "learning...practical skills of advocating was new to me. I was aquainted with international [and] UN documents, declarations, mechanisms, and institutions but did not know how they functioned, [nor] how they could be used. I found this information very helpful, adding to the picture I had."

When asked about what skills and knowledge were gained from the training, one Czech team participant responded, "never before the training did I...recognize women's rights as an integral part of human rights. [In] international law and human rights [courses] at the University [I attended], women's rights were never mentioned."


7. Youth Debate Gender Issues

In 1999, the NWP joined together with the International Debate Education Association (IDEA) and the OSI Karl Popper Debate Program for The Fifth Annual International Debate Workshop and Camp, an annual summer educational workshop for girls and boys from the CEE region, held in Veli Losini, Croatia. The NWP helped shape a special focus on gender issues for the Camp and worked with the youth debaters and teachers to explore and better understand the current situation of women in various cultures.

The team of trainers included B.a.B.e. representatives Sanja Sarnavka, Martina Belic and Vesna Jankovic (Croatia); SOS Crisis Centre representative Natalia Khodreva (Russia); teacher and girls rights organizer Gabrille Durocher-Radeka (USA); and NWP staff member Pamela Shifman (USA). Trainers led workshops on issues such as violence against women (focusing on trafficking in women), gender role socialization, education, employment discrimination and gender stereotypes.

Many students said that this was the first time that they had considered the profound impact that gender has, not only on political systems, but also in their own personal lives. One youth debater remarked, "I think this is not just a problem for women, but for all society, and I think that we should all evolve a bit more." Participants said they had never had access to statistics on women's socio-economic position, nor had they experienced feminist, participatory teaching methodology. For more information on Debate Camp, contact Nina Watkins at her email address: nwatkins@sorosny.org.


8. Romani Women Define Priorities

With the support of OSI's East East Program, the Association of Romani Women in Romania brought together more than 20 Romani women from Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Macedonia, Yugoslavia and Romania to the international conference, "Romani Women and Public Policies in Countries of Central and Eastern Europe" in Bucharest on December 2-3, 1999.

The conference addressed the participation of Romani women in public life, and issues related to health and education. The discussions focused on the status of Romani women at different levels of society; existing national and international resources for promoting the rights of Romani women; and elements of future strategies for Romani women in civil society, governments and international organizations. Participants stressed the fundamental role of discrimination and racism confronting Romani women.

To implement their priorities, the participants will create a European network to establish regular communication and to promote Romani women's rights.

Written and undersigned by the participants of the conference, a declaration was created to identify their priorities for future work.

  • Organize a broader study and inventory of projects addressing or concerning Romani women
  • Integrate Romani women's issues in the Romani movement, women's rights movement, ecumenical movement, and in the agendas of governments and international organizations
  • Lobby for the inclusion of Romani women's issues in national strategies concerning Roma and in state policies concerning women's rights
  • Increase the participation of Romani women in decision-making bodies
  • Improve the level of leadership skills among Romani women
  • Promote policies that create more individual choices in relation to migration, family planning, culture and education
  • Strengthen already existing Romani women's organizations and to support the creation of new organizations throughout the region


9. OSI-Uzbekistan Initiates Dialogue on Poverty

In January, 1999, OSI-Uzbekistan hosted a conference in ancient Samarkand, dedicated to the economic situation of women in Central Asia and the Caucasus. The conference, supported by East-East, gathered participants from Georgia, Turkmenistan, Mongolia, Yugoslavia, Uzbekistan, and the Ukraine.

Open discussions about poverty among women and their economic dependence still remain taboo in most countries of the region. One goal of the gathering was to break this norm and engage women in dialogue about the issues. Participants, women and men alike, exchanged their experiences, ideas, successes and failures concerning women's economic situation in the region. In the words of Mongolian participant Nergiu Sandag, "...[I]t was important to share all the experience we have accumulated in the sphere of micro-crediting. We have methods that can be adapted and used in Central Asia."

Many participants said the conference, organized by Nargiza Turgunova, gave them new ideas for future action and expressed their wish for the continuation of such regional gatherings focusing on women's economic issues.

Recently published materials and a video-film about the conference are available in the office of OSI-Uzbekistan at Zarbog 31, Tashkent. E-mail: nigora@osi.freenet.uz; Phone: (998 71) 120 68 54; Fax: (998 71) 152 27 41


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