Center for Civil Society International ([email protected])
Mon, 12 May 1997 14:22:01 -0700 (PDT)
CCSI presents excerpts from the Agency for Social Information (ASI) e-mail
information bulletin. Translated from Russian by CCSI volunteer Tom
Sorenson, J.D., Ph.D., Edmonds, Washington, USA. For more information on
how to receive ASI's bulletin regularly, contact:
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AGENTSTVO SOTSIALNOI INFORMATSII
Kutuzovskyi pr. 22 pod. 14a,
Moscow, 121151
Tel./fax: (095) 249-3989
E-mail: [email protected]
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N 16 (125)
18 - 24 April 1997
In this issue:
I. Human Rights Activists Call on Patriarch Aleksii II to do
Everything Possible to Stop Torture in Russia
II. Ekaterina Lakhova: Women Should Participate in the Construction
of Civil Society at All Levels
III. The Charitable Center for Aid to Victims of Sexual Violence "Sisters"
is Three Years Old
I
Human Rights Activists Call on Patriarch Aleksii II to do
Everything Possible to Stop Torture in Russia
On April 21, Valerii Abramkin, director of the Social Center for the
Reform of the Criminal Law, and Mar'iana Katsarova, an expert from Amnesty
International on the countries of the former USSR, sent an appeal to the
Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Aleksii II. The appeal says:
"Remembering the traditions of sanctity and charity that have always
formed the basis of the Russian Orthodox Church, we appeal to you with a
call to expend all efforts available to you to stop torture, which in
recent years in our country has become wide-spread and scandalous." It is
not a coincidence that he third week of April was chosen [for this
appeal]. This is Holy Week [according to the Orthodox calendar--Trans.],
"when the Church and all Orthodox Christians remember with especial grief
the horrifying torments and suffering of Jesus Christ on the cross. But
as the Savior said in one of His sermons: What you have done to one of
the least of these my brothers you have done to me. This means that now,
not 200 centuries ago, thousands, or even tens of thousands, of our
countrymen torture and crucify Christ." "Torture in Russia is a man-made
hell" that has created a sensation in other countries but which has
received virtually no clear reflection in the Russian media. The text of a
report [on torture] was also given to the Patriarch together with the
appeal.
The appeal further says: "In a situation in which it seems all human
possibilities for stopping this madness have been exhausted, we appeal to
you, Your Holiness, and ask you to call on the staffs of all Orthodox
institutions, on the government, and on the President of Russia to do all
they can to stop torture."
L. Alekseeva, the chair of the Moscow Helsinki Group, A. Arutiunov, the
International Human Rights Assembly, V. Bakhmin (a member of the Moscow
Helsinki Group), E. Bonner, M. Kirbasova, the Russian Soldiers' Mothers'
Committee, S. Kovalev (a State Duma deputy), and S. Sorokin, "the
Movement Against Violence," joined the appeal.
II
Ekaterina Lakhova: Women Should Participate in the
Construction of Civil Society at All Levels
A scientific-practical conference titled "Prospects for Equal Democracy in
Russia" took place in Moscow on April 22-23. It was organized by the
social-political Russian Woman's Movement. The purpose of the conference
was to discuss the contradiction between the legally guaranteed equality
of women and men proclaimed in the Constitution and the actual
discrimination against women in the family, daily life, and at work. In
addition the participants were to develop a strategy for attaining true
equality between all members of society regardless of gender.
On the first day of the conference for representatives of the country's
regions there were group discussions. The most interesting was considered
to be the group on "The role of Social Organizations in Resolving Issues
of Work and Jobs for Women." It was led by Emiliia Chugunova, the
president of a foundation on women's work and assistance to industry.
Representatives of the regions from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok [i.e., from
across the entire country--Trans.] told of the difficulties with which the
process of creating small business enterprises offering social services to
the public is proceeding in the provinces. The basic problem is
insufficient resources. In many regions women make up more then 50% of
the unemployed, and small enterprises can employ at best 10-20 people.
Nonetheless, there have been distinct successes. Marina Solnyshkina from
the Dubna information and education center "Stimulus" told of how with
the cooperation of the Dubna work center a group of women learned the
profession of landscape design. They all now have jobs in the city. And
in Pskov women entrepreneurs created their own association and, by
combining their own collections and a small amount contributed by the
local work center, organized 12 small enterprises -- a small bakery, a
wholesale firm, etc. In many cities, at the regional affiliates of the
Russian Women's Movement and other social organizations, child and elder
care services are organized, assuring work for the "secret" unemployed.
"Today we can see how the stereotypes are falling," concluded Emiliia
Chugunova. "Women used to think that finding them work and paying them
was the government's duty. Now they are more actively involved in the
area of social services, in the work of the third sector." "In order to
overcome the patriarchal principles of state organization, women must not
only aspire to positions of power but must also participate in the
creation of civil society at all levels, including in the resolution of
social problems," emphasized the chair of the Russian Women's Movement
Ekaterina Lakhova in her presentation.
Telephone: 206-8652
III
The Charitable Center for Aid to Victims of
Sexual Violence "Sisters" is Three Years Old
"Sisters" is one of the first centers of its type in the former USSR.
Before 1994 such a service did not exist in Russia. The state did not see
the need for such organizations. The staff of the charitable foundation
"Human Spirit" were the initiators of the creation of Sisters. They
developed Russia's first specialized program of psychological support for
victims of sexual violence. Then, in 1994, the center started a
confidential phone line, and since 1996 it has conducted art therapy
groups for women who have experienced sexual violence.
"We see our basic task as being to provide psychological help to victims
of violence, who often become "outcasts" in our society, and also to
change the relationship of society to violence in general and to the
victims of sexual violence in particular," says center director Irina
Chernen'kaia.
The staff of the center consider their educational program to prevent
sexual violence among youth, with the cooperation of the law enforcement
authorities, and the development of networks of crisis centers to be their
most promising work.
The results of Sisters' work in the past year were presented at the
anniversary of the center, which was marked on April 18 at the A. Sakharov
Museum. In 1996 there were 1,730 calls on the confidential telephone
line from people needing expert psychological help. 480 of them concerned
sexual violence. 18 calls came from men. The other victims of violence
were women and children. According to the center's statistics, the
violence most often occurred in the street or in a park (10.4%), at the
home of the victim (7.9%), or at the home of the perpetrator (7.1%).
However, the staff of the center consider most significant the fact that
only 11.9% of the victims went to the police, and only 2.9% of all cases
of violence went to court.
Telephone number of the center: 141-7226
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| CCSI presents excerpts from the ASI Bulletin. The |
| ASI Bulletin is a publication of the Agency for Social |
| Information (ASI) in Moscow. Originally published in |
| Russian, selected stories are translated and posted to |
| the CCSI listserv "CivilSoc." English and Russian |
| archives are available on the CCSI Web site at: |
| |
| http://www.friends-partners.org/~ccsi/ |
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