Gender equality and anti-trafficking are part of comprehensive security
Gender equality plays an important part in promoting peace, economic development and sustainable democracy. This is reflected in one of the fundamental principles of the OSCE, which takes a comprehensive approach to security by supporting women’s direct participation in all spheres of political, social and economic life.
Viorelia Rusu, who recently joined the OSCE Office in Tajikistan as Gender and Anti-Trafficking Officer, talks about the organization’s work in supporting women’s empowerment and challenges in combating the modern-day slavery in the country.
Previously she worked with the “La Strada” NGO in Moldova for thirteen years co-ordinating programmes aimed at prevention of domestic violence and helping victims of human trafficking including their rescue. In the past several years she worked as an expert for the OSCE Office in Tajikistan in capacity-building.
The success stories I’ve heard from the OSCE-supported Women’s Resource Centres, ones that really changed women’s lives for the better, inspire my daily work despite the difficulties encountered.
What role do women play in political life of Tajikistan?
17% of all parliamentarians are women, and the role they play in raising women’s issues was a pleasant surprise. When I arrived in Tajikistan for the first time, I found out that a group of eight women prominent in different political parties were getting together on a regular basis to promote interests of women in Tajik society. I know that some women politicians played a crucial role in advocating for the Law on the Prevention of Domestic Violence adopted in March 2013 and developing state programmes targeting gender equality issues. The OSCE Office in Tajikistan works closely with the Tajik authorities, political parties and civil society to strengthen the participation of women in public and political life and to help in developing legislation and policies supporting women issues.
What is the focus of the Gender and Anti-Trafficking Unit?
The Gender and Anti-Trafficking Unit supports activities to provide equal opportunities for women and men in all spheres of their life. It works with a wide range of partners to initiate projects across Tajikistan to build mechanisms that monitor the government’s compliance with international gender equality obligations and support creation of the national action plan for combating violence against women. One important part of its activities is devoted to building local capacity.
In the counter-trafficking field, the Office helps improve skills of government officials and civil society representatives involved in fighting the social scourge to address cases of human trafficking through a co-ordinated and victim-centred approach. This helps to build local referral networks to protect victims and share good practices. Gender equality brings benefits to the entire society.
How would you describe the main challenges women in Tajikistan face?
Challenging existing stereotypes in society is not an easy task. That is why some of the OSCE activities focus on raising public awareness on recognizing signs of domestic violence and trafficking.
Like in many other countries, female victims of domestic violence or human trafficking are often subjected to marginalization, stigmatization by their communities, and even by their family members. Often their only hope to start a new life is to leave the community. This is a big challenge, especially for women with children who in most cases depend financially on their relatives. Civil society groups are striving to help victims to overcome the stigma, no matter whether it is a woman or man, by providing assistance for their social and economic reintegration and empowerment.
Challenging existing stereotypes is not an easy task. That is why some of the OSCE activities focus on raising public awareness on recognizing signs of domestic violence and trafficking. Such campaigns help to look at them through the prism of human rights infringement, especially in remote areas where exposure to other sources of information is limited. The aim is to cultivate zero tolerance towards the phenomenon on the one hand, and to promote a non-blaming and protective attitude on the other hand.
What is the impact of the law on the Prevention of Violence in the Family on improving situation of domestic violence victims?
The Law has only just started to be implemented, but we already see an increasing number of women approaching police and other services for help. As a result, more of them are getting appropriate assistance and protection. This is a good sign which proves that there are more women who understand that domestic violence should not be tolerated.
How do the OSCE-supported Women Resource Centres assist women in rural areas?
The OSCE supports 18 Women Resource Centres (WRCs) operating throughout Tajikistan. Over the last three months, 1094 people were provided with psychological support; 1079 persons benefited from legal advice and 565 participated in vocational training attending sewing, computer or literacy courses. Most of them were women but there were also men among them. Outreach meetings with women in remote areas are conducted by all WRCs to ensure that the services are accessible to as many people as possible.
Services provided by the OSCE-supported Women’s Resource Centres are not just life-changing but also life-saving.
Success stories I’ve heard from the OSCE-supported Women’s Resource Centres that changed women’s lives for the better, really inspire me to do my work. Providing timely support including psychological counselling was instrumental in helping a female victim of violence from a village in the north of the country so that she could turn her life around after a suicide attempt. Not only did she recover, but she went on to attend a vocational training course at the local Women’s Resource Centre. She then set up her own small business and in the process became a respected member of the community. She is a good role model to encourage other women who went through a similar experience to play a more proactive role in changing their lives. I know from my own personal experience of helping to rescue victims of trafficking in Moldova that the types of services provided by the WRCs are very important. In some cases, they are not just life-changing but also life-saving.
How do you see the situation with gender equality and human trafficking in a five years’ time?
I am an optimistic person and I have learned from my previous experience while working in Moldova that even those initiatives, which at first sight seem very ambitious, stand a chance of being implemented with sufficient dedication, energy and enthusiasm. While doing so, we need to put the interests of people who benefit from our work first. I visited many countries, but only in Tajikistan I have come across so many NGOs that work on a voluntary basis striving to put respect for human rights into practice.
