Eritrean Women's Center
Proposed Outreach Activities 2012-2013
Introduction
The newly established center for Eritrean
women in Tel Aviv is a new initiative designed and run independently by a group
of Eritrean women. Set up in July 2012, the
center aims to provide Eritrean women with a safe space as well as access to
important services. This center is the first and only one of its kind; utilizing
a grass roots approach to support Eritrean women in a fundamental way. The
center is directed by Zebib Sultan, an Eritrean refugee who has experience
working with women and developing curricula in Eritrea and who has undergone extensive
training by Amnesty International Israel.
The center has already come to symbolize a
center of support and belonging. The center offers a child care service during
the day, enabling refugee women to maintain jobs and to view the women's center
as a place with practical implications on their lives. In the evenings, the
center functions as a community center offering training and workshops, English
and Hebrew classes, as well as open hours where women can come to watch movies,
drink coffee, and relax.
Beginning in January 2013, the center plans
to dramatically expand its outreach activities within the Eritrean women's
community. During the next project period, the center will expand its current
projects to include three new programs: 1) Domestic abuse 2) Prostitution and
3) Family planning.
About Eritrean Women in Israel
35,000 Eritrean asylum seekers currently
live in Israel. Labeled infiltrators and migrant workers rather than recognized
as refugees, Eritreans, and particularly the isolated population of Eritrean
women, are unable to access education, employment, healthcare and social
services. It is estimated that the number of Eritrean women living in Israel is
around 7,000.
Eritrean women in Israel traveled through
the Sinai desert in Egypt in order to reach the border with Israel. This
journey is notoriously dangerous as many refugees are held hostage by smugglers
for extended periods of time until they are released in exchange for large sums
of money. Many women are raped and the majority of individuals experience
violence, torture, and a severe lack of basic needs along the way. Therefore,
individuals arriving in Israel are dealing with trauma, injury, a break down of
family structure as well as severe emotional issues. The trauma experienced in
the Sinai has collectively influenced the Eritrean community in Israel and
especially the community of Eritrean women.
Worldwide,
refugee movements impose tremendous psychological and physical trauma on
survivors, making refugees a high-risk group for psychopathology and
psycho-social adjustment problems. Even more than the average, Eritrean refugees living in Israel are
incredibly isolated as well as neglected. Both Eritrean families and
individuals experience high levels of stress, trauma as well as a breakdown in
their own sense of identity.
Ongoing Activities at the Women's
Center
Since opening in July 2012, the women’s
center has developed a number of programs and activities. At the moment,
through a number of programs and activities, about100 women are able to make
use of the center on a weekly basis. With the implementation of these programs
we hope to reach about 200 women a week and about 1,000 different women per
year.
The center runs a nursery that is open
every day from 6:00am to 19:00pm. This nursery is held to high standards, as a
flagship project that other nurseries can later be modeled upon. Refugee
nurseries are notoriously under-staffed and over-crowded, with horror stories
of babies being seriously neglected. Running a nursery at a high standard
creates trust among Eritrean mothers, who can then trust the center as a place
worth investing time and energy. Such trust is essential before embarking on
more sensitive issues such as family planning, prostitution, and domestic
abuse.
Every Saturday afternoon, Dr Habtemariam,
an Eritrean doctor and widely-respected member of the community, visits the
center for a questions and answers session on health issues concerning the
women. This program has been incredibly successful in that the women visiting
the center feel comfortable and confident in seeking health advice from Dr
Habte. We hope that the use of the center as a source of information and
guidance concerning women’s health issues will evolve and develop over time.
Additionally, the center is a venue for the
8 week-long Human Rights courses that are facilitated by Amnesty International
Israel. These courses train refugees from the community to become more active
in the struggle to be recognized as refugees in Israel.
As well as hosting the Human Rights course
facilitated by Amensty International , the center co-ordinates English and
Hebrew classes for women. Language skills are incredibly important for the
refugee community and play a huge role in cultivating a sense of empowerment.
In support of developing a communal space
and sense of security, there is a weekly movie night and coffee evening.
Eritrean women frequently "drop-by" the center, even if there is no
formal programming, in order to learn about the place, ask questions and
receive information, and get assistance in emergency situations.
Proposed Project 1: Domestic Violence
Objective:
This program aims to function from within
the Eritrean Women’s Center to support the large number of women who are
experiencing domestic abuse. Currently, these women are most often isolated and
unable to access critical social support. Additionally, as refugees, they lack
the traditional means of resolving conflict through their priest and family
networks, as they are used to in Eritrea. We propose a training course teaching
women who will then act as ambassadors within their communities, allowing more
and more women to connect with advice and support concerning domestic abuse
issues.
Context:
The lack of legal rights, limited basic
services, and a dramatic shift in household power dynamics are factors
influencing a rise in domestic abuse among refugees. The rise in domestic abuse
is a result, in part, of the breakdown of community and family structure as
well as the high levels of stress and anxiety associated with living as a
refugee in Israel. It
has been found in many countries that forms of domestic violence often escalate
in direct proportion to the pressures of refugee life.
As refugees, some women tend to find work
more easily within domestic roles than men. If a woman is working and her husband is
unemployed, the reversal of traditional family roles often creates tension.
Despite working in the public sphere, women are still expected to be solely
responsible for the home, including cleaning, cooking, and child-rearing. These disruptions in power relations between the husband and wife
tend to feed a sense of inadequacy among refugee men. Therefore, dramatic
changes in the structure of the family come together making women far more
vulnerable to domestic abuse.
Additionally,
due to a lack of community structure, the true scale of violence among refugees
remains unknown as a great number of incidents are never reported. Furthermore,
without the community and extended family structure that would exist in their
home country, these families are far less likely to resolve or deal with these
issues.
It is clear that individuals within the
community must gain an insight into domestic abuse, especially within the
context of Israeli law and policy, in order to support others in the community.
Additionally, it is essential that individuals, especially women, have a base
upon which they can rely in event that they experience or fear experiencing
domestic abuse. Therefore, the women’s center hopes to be this base from which
preventative measures can be taken against domestic abuse within the Eritrean
refugee community.
Activities:
The vision of a domestic abuse program
within the Eritrean women’s center is based on three important services or
aspects of raising awareness and facilitating prevention: 1) A Course for Women
2) Open Advice Sessions in the Women's Center and in the Community and 3) Prevention
and Awareness Meetings on Domestic Abuse.
1. A Course for Women
The project would involve an organized
course in partnership with ASSAF (Aid Organization for Refugees in Israel http://www.assaf.org.il/en/) that would
train volunteers from the community to effectively support individuals
experiencing domestic abuse.
15 women trainees would enroll in the
course that would take place once a week over a 10-week period, for a total of
30 hours of training. The women selected for the course would be those who are
identified as most likely to have a positive impact on the community.
Therefore, trainees would be those women with a large number of connections to
different women within the community as well as having the capacity to
influence and lead this community of women when it comes to domestic abuse
issues. Graduates from the course would offer advocacy regarding the
psychosocial or mental health needs of refugees experiencing or at risk of
experiencing domestic abuse. This would involve effective referral to
professional psychological or mental health and other social support services
within Israel.
As part of the course, the women would
develop educational materials in Tigrinya on the subject of domestic abuse.
These materials would aid the women in their outreach work in the community and
would remain continuously available at the women's center.
2. Open Advice Sessions in the Women's
Center and in the Community
The graduates from this course would
volunteer in the center and in the community as sources of direct support for
women experiencing domestic abuse. The center would come to offer psychosocial
support and problem solving counseling for individuals and families as well as
conflict resolution with families or community members to prevent and mediate
problems. We hope that this structure of trained volunteers could come, in a
way to imitate the function of the extended family, as exists in Eritrea. This
imitation would offer a network of support based on a culturally specific
understanding of domestic abuse.
As explained above, the women chosen to
participate in the course are already active women who come from a variety of
backgrounds (religious denomination, zone of origin within Eritrea,
neighborhood of living within Tel Aviv, etc). This means that as women are
active in their communities they would reach a wide audience of women from
different backgrounds.
3. Prevention and Awareness Meetings on Domestic Abuse
The center will host a variety of
prevention and awareness activities on the subject of domestic abuse. Working
with Assaf organization and the graduates of our course, we will host at least
one activity per month aimed at both women and men on the issue of
domestic abuse.
We will target especially relevant groups
of individuals including priests and deacons as well as other influential
individuals including business owners and university graduates. Depending on
those in the meeting, these groups will focus on the definition and types of
domestic violence, the legal structures concerning such abuse especially in
Israel, how to prevent domestic abuse, and what to do if someone close to you
is experiencing such abuse.
Proposed Project 2: Eliminating
Prostitution in the Eritrean Community in Israel
Objective:
This program aims to seek out and support
women already involved in prostitution, finding ways to develop a viable exit
strategy for each of these women. This program also aims to develop and spread
preventative measures aimed at the most vulnerable women in the community.
Context:
A number of women within the Eritrean
community in Israel have fallen into prostitution in attempt to support
themselves while living in Tel Aviv. These women are at high risk of
experiencing physical, verbal and sexual abuse, as well as high risk of
contracting Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) like HIV/AIDs. Additionally,
these women are experiencing profound isolation and require immediate support. This
program aims to assist such women and ensure that other women do not fall
victim to becoming prostitutes.
Activities:
In order to address to pressing issue of
prostitution within the Eritrean women's community, we propose the following
two activities: 1) Identifying and supporting women already involved in
prostitution and 2) Preventing vulnerable women from falling into prostitution.
1. Identifying and supporting women
already involved in prostitution
By advising and advocating for the women
within the cycle of prostitution, we would hope to provide emotional support,
access to a wider social network, alternative employment options and access to
information concerning vocational training.
With continual support with partner Israeli
organizations such as the Hotline for Migrant Workers, the staff of the center
will go into the community to identify Eritrean women involved in prostitution.
The staff will map the likely places prostitution takes place including in
local bars as well as backrooms in stores in order to reach the widest group of
people. In addition, the staff will spread word and the relevant phone number
associated with this program so affected women (or those close with affected
women) can call for help.
Additionally, the center, as an
already-existing structure, would allow the women to access advocacy support as
well as facilitating collaboration with already-existing Israeli organizations
that identify and support the individuals involved in prostitution. The
Director of the Center will conduct an initial mapping of available services
for Israeli citizens in prostitution and discuss options of expanding and
tailoring these services to Eritrean women.
Using language classes, which are already
set up at the center, as well as access to vocational advice and connections,
these women would be made aware of the ways in which they might leave the cycle
of prostitution.
2. Preventing vulnerable women from
falling into prostitution
This aspect of the project will support the
young women within the Eritrean community in attempt to prevent prostitution.
Taking advantage of the women’s center as a safe and supportive space, the
program would provide information and insight into the ways in which young
women can avoid falling into prostitution.
This program will include at least 15 seminars
and workshops over the next year concerning employment options, the
significance of the body, women’s rights and sexual health and responsibility.
It is hoped therefore that the program might empower young women, reducing
these women’s vulnerability to the cycle of prostitution.
Proposed Project 3: Family Planning
Objective:
This program aims to empower Eritrean women
living in Israel by providing information, support and access to family
planning. This program will enable the presence of qualified workers allowing
for the availability of family planning and advice on different methods of
family planning to the refugee community. Women would therefore have access to
enough information in order to make important decisions regarding family
planning.
Context:
Discussion between women visiting the
centre has made obvious the necessity of and demand for access to information
and practical support concerning family planning. A large number of women
expressed an interest in maintaining a discussion forum regarding various
methods of family planning. The average age of the women visiting the center
ranges between 20 and 30, many of them married. These women are often
struggling with social and economic instability within the family and feel a
strong need to plan effectively with regard to children. The legal status of
these women means that they are unable to access national health insurance. Due
to a lack of available social services, as well as being under intense economic
pressure, these women are in desperate need of both guidance and support in
adopting a family plan. Within the year the service would aim to target 800
women.
Activities:
Firstly, this program will enable the
presence of trained workers allowing for the availability of family planning
and advice on different types of family planning to the refugee community.
Women would therefore have access to enough information in order to make
important decisions regarding family planning. Secondly, the family planning program
would facilitate coordinated advice and from the organizations in Tel Aviv
dealing with the issue. Research into and cooperation with the various
organizations in Tel Aviv would allow for a coordinated and streamlined
approach to family planning and reproductive healthcare.
1. Increasing Access to Family Planning
Methods
This program will organize and streamline
the services regarding family planning currently available to refugee women
living in Tel Aviv. There are many organizations that deal with issues
regarding pregnancy, abortion and family planning. These organizations tend to
function independently and do not address the necessity of co-operation between
the various organizations responding to the various needs of Eritrean women.
Below is a list of the relevant
organization that work on the issue of family planning, to some degree.
- ASSAF is an organizations providing assistance to asylum seekers living in Israel. This organization works with a large number of refugees but has no formal program on family planning.
- The ARDC women’s shelter works to support women in desperate need following serious trauma in the Sinai, for example. The women’s shelter functions efficiently with regard to the provision of guidance and follow up on pregnancy, abortion and family planning for the women within the shelter. Their services only extend outside the women in the shelter on an ad hoc basis.
- Hagar & Miriam is an organization focusing on pregnancy, abortion and family planning for the refugee community. Offering access to a gynaecologist as well as a class on family planning, this organization aims to deal practically with an important issue. However, due to a lack of resources, organization and culturally appropriate outreach is a challenge.
- The Refugee Clinic at the central bus station is currently being redeveloped in attempt to offer important services regarding pregnancy, abortion and family planning. We predict that this clinic might soon serve as an important center regarding the provision of family planning and reproductive health services.
- The Rape Crisis Center in Tel Aviv is a hotline used mainly by Israeli women that have experienced some kind of sexual abuse. They have teamed up with the Hotline for Migrant Workers and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel in a High Court of Justice case regarding access to gynecologists for newly arriving refugee women in the Israeli prison system under the Anti-Infiltration Law. Besides this important step, the organization has yet to become involved on the issue of family planning.
- Physicians for Human Rights-Israel is an organization providing important health-related services to refugees living in Israel. Working out of a clinic based in Jaffa, this organization offers access to a gynecologist. However, this service struggles in providing effective follow up regarding pregnancy, abortion and family planning.
- Levinsky STD Clinic offers free STD testing for anyone who enters their doors regardless of legal and financial status. Their staff gives ad hoc advice on family planning as questions arise.
As a first step to this activity, we plan
to conduct a mapping to research and understand the role of each of the
organizations in providing access to family planning and reproductive health
care. The mapping of these organizations will include a two-way approach. One
the one hand, we will understand what services each of these organizations
currently offers and can offer to refugee women. On the other hand, we will map
what Eritrean women know and think of each of these organizations, specifically
trying to understand how culturally accessible the services are. An organized
understanding of each of these organizations would allow us to develop a
program that would streamline these services, providing useful and effective
support to women in need of family planning and reproductive healthcare.
Connecting each phase of the program, the
trained community workers would offer essential, culturally appropriate advice
to women using both the training from the course as well as knowledge of a
streamlined process of referral.
2. Training Family Planning Ambassadors
from the Eritrean Women's Community
This project is in collaboration with “Open
Door” which is a national network of information centers, counseling and
treatment for young people and their parents on issues relating to adolescence,
relationships, sexuality, healthy sexual behavior, responsibility and the
prevention of violence. The service providers working with “Open Door” are professionals,
most of them volunteers, who receive special training and professional
guidance. More information on Open Door can be
accessed here: http://www.opendoor.org.il/English.aspx
This activity proposes a training program
would take place where a number of women in the community would become
community health workers. The course would take place over a 10-week period,
consisting of 30 hours of training. The course would be team taught by the
women's center director and a volunteer from Open Door.
As part of the course, the trained health
workers would develop educational materials in Tigrinya on the subject of
family planning. These materials would assist the health workers in their
outreach activities within the community.
The community health workers graduating
from this course would work within the community in attempt to support and
guide Eritrean women with regard to family planning. This program would focus
on the empowerment of Eritrean women through information and responsibility for
sexual health and family planning. Specifically, these health workers would
hold at least 12 seminars in the first year of the project period on family
planning. They would also offer individual services to at least 250 women on
this issue.
Conclusion
The Eritrean Women's Center would
appreciate your generous support on one or more of these proposed activities.
For additional information, please be in touch with the Center director, Zebib
Sultan, at +972-54-2317006 or by email at eritreanwomenscenter@gmail.com.
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