ADVOCATING FOR CHANGE
HOME / ADVOCATING FOR CHANGE
CAMPAIGND AND AWARENESS
RAISING
Violence against women has long been invisible in Slovakia. In Slovakia, as in other countries, women’s NGOs and activists were the ones who identified the issue as a problem of the whole society, not a problem of individual women. They brought violence against women in intimate relationships out from behind the closed doors of homes into the public space, where it belongs.
We want women and their children experiencing violence from current or former partners to find immediate help and protection. We want to hear what women and their children experience in situations of violence, we want to hear what they say and for their experience to be taken seriously. We want women to feel that we stand behind them.
16 DAYS OF ACTIVISM
Campaign is an opportunity for all of us to break the silence and talk about violence against women. There are many steps that all of us can take to protect women and children from violence.
Issue: Route No. 5 – Theatrical Happening 5
performed to the public in seven cities in Slovakia, brought the different experiences of women with violence and with seeking protection and help, as well as the issue of women’s position in society. The theatrical happening, prepared by the Na rázcestí Puppet Theatre, was part of the 16 Days of Activism against Violence against Women campaign in 2011, which we did in cooperation with six other women’s NGOs.
Silent Witnesses
Remembering Slovak women who were murdered by their partners or ex-partners as a result of the abuse they experienced at their hands. They are represented by life-size red mannequins that carry their life stories. The idea of drawing attention to the most serious impact of violence against women, femicide, originated in the 1990s in Minnesota, USA. Since 2004, when we first presented the Silenced Witnesses exhibition to the public, it has been held 47 times in Slovakia.
Women’s Mysteries
The first exhibition Silenced Witnesses was accompanied by a theatrical performance created in cooperation with Na rázcestí Puppet Theatre in Banská Bystrica. Both the exhibition and the theatre performance took place in a public space on Hlavná Street in Košice in 2004. It showed the potential and power of the performing arts to raise people’s awareness of important social issues, which undoubtedly include violence against women.
V-Day
refers to the global initiative to end violence against women and girls, founded by author Eve Ensler. Her book “The Vagina Monologues”, a collection of dozens of women’s experiences of violence, became the basis for theatrical performances and readings of stories from the book. Every February, they are read in thousands of cities and countries around the world. We brought this initiative to Košice in 2003 and, thanks to the various women’s groups that have continued it since then, it has become something of a tradition in the city.
“One-In-Five Women” campaign
was the first national campaign to eliminate violence against women in Slovakia. In 2001, seven women’s NGOs jointly launched a nationwide campaign to eliminate violence against women that changed the perception of society. We began to understand that what used to be considered a private problem for individual women was in fact a society-wide problem and a serious violation of women’s human rights.
“Actively against Male Violence”
was Fenestra’s first campaign at regional level on the occasion of International Women’s Health Day in year 2000. The campaign aimed to address and increase young people’s activism in human rights advocacy. The motto was STOP violence against women!
EDUCATION
We started our educational activities in 1998 with the aim of improving the quality of protection, assistance and support for women experiencing violence and their children from the various organisations and institutions they turn to in situations of violence.
We offer education based on our experience and knowledge, on the experience of women experiencing violence and on good knowledge of the environment and the system. We conduct trainings, workshops and seminars. We encourage expert debate on violence against women by organising conferences. We talk with young people about what is a healthy and unhealthy relationship and teach them to respect human rights.
149 educational
activities
we educated
2063 hours
5279
participants
COOPERATION
Violence against women is a complex problem that no single organisation or institution can succeed in combating alone. That is why it is important for us to develop cooperation with NGOs in Slovakia and abroad, as well as with the responsible state and public institutions.
Working Group on the Prevention and Elimination of Violence against Women in Košice
is an informal platform for developing cooperation with state and public institutions involved in addressing the situation of women experiencing violence in intimate relationships. We initiated its establishment in 2007 and still coordinate its activities. The long-term goal of the working group is to create the conditions for a coordinated model of cooperation between institutions in the prevention and elimination of violence against women to emerge and work effectively in practice.
Safe Women’s Network against Violence against Women
is an informal network of grassroot women’s organisations that share a common vision of a better world – a world in which violence against women is not tolerated and women are able to realise their full potential. One of its main objectives is to empower the voice of women’s NGOs in order to have an impact on how public policies on violence against women are set. Fenestra has been a member organisation of the network since its foundation in 2014.
European Network WAVE - Women Against Violence Europe
brings together more than 150 women’s organisations focused on violence against women in 46 European countries. Its aim is to promote and strengthen women’s human rights in general by preventing violence against women and their children. Founded in 1994, it is the only network in Europe working with violence against women. We have been a member organisation since 2001 and have been actively involved in its activities and direction for a long time.
PUBLICATIONS
We publish our own and translate foreign publications for the expert community. Information on violence against women is also necessary for the general public and for women experiencing violence themselves, which is why some of our publications are aimed at them.
MONITORING AND ANALYSES
If we do not have sufficient data on violence against women in the country, we will not have effective tools and policies to gradually eliminate it. Good quality, comprehensive data are also essential for assessing how the whole system of protection, assistance and support for women experiencing violence works and what should be improved.
