SOLWODI: Fighting Violence, Supporting Victims

Transcription

1 Slide: (1. SOLWODI Solidarity with Women in Distress) 2. I first founded SOLWODI in Kenya in nineteen eighty-five. Back then, SOLWODI was simply an aid project for women living in the slums of Mombasa. Due to poverty the women were forced to work as prostitutes. Seeing the violence, exploitation and misery these women faced each day made me want to do something to change their situation. Upon my return to Germany in nineteen eighty-seven, I realised that even in civilised Europe, migrant women and girls were being exploited and mistreated in very similar ways. I founded SOLWODI in Germany to support some of the weakest members of our society: women, foreign to our country and way of life, with no command of the language, with little or no knowledge of their rights, completely dependent on their exploiters. In the past years SOLWODI has opened centres in 4 different German counties or Bundeslaender): Rhineland-Palatinate, North-Rhine-Westphalia, Lower-Saxony, Bavaria. 3. Today we have our headquarters in Boppard, with our returnee project, counselling and administration, as well as nine other counselling centres and women s shelters. Volunteers have also founded small work-groups and contact points. 4. What exactly does SOLWODI do? Our four main areas of work are Counselling, supporting and protecting migrant women and girls in Germany who are experiencing problems to support this work, we rely on our large network of cooperation partners: other NGOs both in Germany and abroad, lawyers, politicians, women s organisation, churches etc. Our project work consists of the returnee programme: Migrant women who wish to return to their country of origin or face deportation are helped to develop sustainable ways to earn an income upon their return home. Another current project is the EU-AGIS project Anti-Trafficking Training Modules for Judges and Prosecutors. And finally, via lobby work and interviews we voice the needs of migrant women and raise public awareness. 5. Why do migrant girls and women contact Solwodi? There are many reasons, as you can see. The ones high-lighted in green are those almost always related to violence in some way. Often our clients are faced with not only one but a whole complex of problems which are all interrelated. Page 1 of 5 June 2005

2 6. Where do our clients come from? Last year, the majority of women contacting Solwodi came from Middle, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. This has become a trend over the last few years. Before, most of the women contacting us came from Asia and Africa. 7. Here you have the countries of origin in detail. 8. Migrant women experiencing violence in Germany can be grouped into three categories - and I imagine this is typical in most Western States: victims of trafficking and forced prostitution victims of arranged marriages and victims of domestic violence 9. Taking a closer look at victims of trafficking: what kind of support do these women and girls require? The victims have experienced great violence: they have been threatened, beaten, raped. They have been tricked into coming to the West under false promises. Sometimes they have been deceived by so-called friends, relatives or lovers. The young women and girls have been forced to work in prostitution. They are traumatised, distrustful, and scared. They speak little or no German. They have been told by their tormentors to fear the police, because they have made themselves punishable. The women blame themselves for getting in the mess they are in. They are totally in despair when they are brought to us. It is therefore necessary to make clear that we are there to support their interests. We give them accommodation in one of our anonymous shelters where we first look after their most basic needs: safety, medical treatment, the chance to talk and the chance to think. In one-on-one sessions with the counsellor, the victims are calmed and stabilised, so that they are able to make their own decisions. If they wish to return home, we support them with our returnee project. We help develop sustainable income generating measures, together with an NGO in the home country. If they want to stay and are willing to give evidence, they can be taken into the victim-witness-protection programme in co-operation with the criminal police. We organise lawyers for them, negotiate with the social services and alien s office, where necessary. And many more tasks as well. 10. Solwodi does not just give support to the victims, but is actively involved in the fight against trafficking. By supporting the victims before, during and after the trial, the woman becomes psychologically more stable and the evidence she gives is more credible. The traffickers have no means of influencing the witness because she is safe in the shelter. Because Solwodi has helped develop co-operation concepts together with the criminal Page 2 of 5 June 2005

3 police, roles and responsibilities of the participants in trafficking proceedings are clear. We actively work on raising awareness for the problems of trafficking victims amongst the judiciary, for example in the EU-AGIS project mentioned earlier. By networking with NGOs in the countries of origin, we help to ensure that women can free themselves from the vicious circle of dependency and exploitation. And with our lobbying we work on influencing reforms in legislation. 11. However, there is a lot of room for improvement. Taking a look at some facts and figures for 2003, I think this slide speaks for itself. 12. The main problems I see in combating trafficking in women today are: Not enough victims are found. These girls and women are only freed if the police raid the brothels, bars and clubs to find them. But domestic politics place priority on fighting terrorism, Islamism or drug offences. If women are found, they are often simply sent home straight back into the arms of their traffickers. It is only a matter of time before they arrive in the next Western town. German legislation has stopped prostitution from being an immoral practice. This is wonderful news for those prostitutes who decide to work in prostitution of their own free will. But for those forced into prostitution this is a terrible decision. Because now prostitution is much harder to control and forced prostitution therefore more difficult to detect. The Eu-Enlargement has also made things more complicated. Before the enlargement, many victims, who came from Middle and Eastern European States, had no legal documents. The police could take them in for questioning, and, away from the pimps and traffickers, the women could explain their situation. Today, they are here legally and the police can do nothing. In line with EU and UN recommendations, German Anti-Trafficking legislation now in cludes forced labour. Although less cases of forced prostitution are being found, the new statistics will not show this, because now also men and children in forced labour situations will be counted. A lot of money is being spent in Europe on anti-trafficking campaigns and projects. A lot of studies are being carried out, a lot of conferences being held. The general public gets the impression a lot is being done, but I wonder how much of the money is really helping the affected women and girls. 13. The second category of violence is that of arranged or forced marriages. Solwodi had thirty-three cases last year (twenty-two the year before). Page 3 of 5 June 2005

4 These girls are in a terrible conflict. They either risk losing their families or their freedom. They are terrified of being found and punished by their fathers or brothers, who think that way they will save the family s reputation. By running away, the girls have left school or training. They have left their passports and legal documents at home. Our counsellors look for ways to establish trust and give these girls a sense of security. The girls are accommodated in our shelters, so that they cannot be found by their relatives. We arrange for them to continue with their education if possible. And we accompany them to the authorities so that they receive financial support and/ legal documents, without being traced. The most important aspect is to help them develop plans for the future. Many feel suicidal. It may be necessary to organise psycho-therapy for them. 14. The practice of forced marriages can only be fought by bringing about a long-term change in attitudes amongst the migrant families. Via public awareness raising in schools and youth groups, with Solwodi publications such as our new book for youths, we hope to help the next generations. By networking with migrant women s organisations we can make sure the female members of the family support the daughters. And if the public is aware of the problems, more neighbours, teachers or trainers will become active if they suspect cases of arranged marriages in their environment. 15. The final category, domestic violence, is often linked with sex-tourism or marriage agencies. These women have come to Germany in the hope of finding a better life, even if they do not love their new partner. When they come to us they have usually experienced violence psychological and/or physical. They have been kept ignorant, do not know their rights and often do not speak the language. They are completely dependent on their partners. We currently have a case of a Kenyan lady who married a German tourist. Her husband convinced her to leave her children in Kenya with her parents and come to Germany. She comes from very poor conditions and hoped that her future husband would be her salvation, hoped she would be able to send her children money for their education. After a few weeks back in Germany, during which time she was abused, the husband grew tired of her and asked the Alien s Office where he could hand her in! She is now in a women s shelter, she has been informed of her rights, and has been given access to a lawyer. We hope she will not be deported before we can arrange a civil law suit against the husband. This isn t the first wife he has picked up on holiday and whom he has discarded after a few weeks. But it is perfectly legal the law is on his side. The tiresome wife has no rights, she will be deported and he no longer needs to worry. Page 4 of 5 June 2005

5 16. More must be done to increase public awareness and to improve the rights of these women 17. How to improve the combat of violence against women in the future? For all three categories we require a comprehensive approach: This means providing victim support, not just from NGOs, but also in co-operation with the social services and with the criminal police and judiciary, to prevent re-traumatisation. Commitment of the politicians: support measures cost money. Local and national politicians must agree on which authority is responsible for financing victim support. Combatting violence against women must be made a priority. The police must be instructed to make more raids on brothels and bars; Asylum policy must be changed, more residence permits must be granted to victims. And concrete measures must be taken in the countries of origin to improve the rights and opportunities of women and girls, so that they are less vulnerable to fall victim to tricksters and traffickers. Public awareness needs to be raised in these countries too, to warn the women that not all that glitters is gold. Life in the West can be more like hell than heaven, if they fall victim to traffickers or scrupulous husbands. And local NGOs need the capacity to deal with victims who return home. And they need to carry out prevention and lobby work in their vicinity. 18. A lot of money is being spent in the name of combating violence and trafficking nowadays. Call it gender equality, human rights, combating violence However, talking alone wont help. Studies are important, public awareness raising is nec essary. But if the affected women and girls are simply deported when they are freed from their exploiters, if local authorities fight about who should pay for their support, if the women and girls are not given a chance to live a decent life then they will remain in the vicious circle of violence If we really want to combat violence against women we need action - NOW. Page 5 of 5 June 2005