Legal advice
The Feminist Safe Space
Between January and August 2023, we organized many events in the Feminist Safe Space of the Women’s Resource Center and had over 400 visits.
From March 6 to 31, one could visit the “Visible Name” exhibition in our space, which gathered works of 3 female artists. Throughout the history of art, women have too often been viewed as muses and assistants to men, but not as individuals and artists. The goal was to fill the space with art created by women. The artists were Ani Tadevosyan, Huri Margaryan, Amasia Niziblyan. More than 50 art lovers visited the exhibition.
In addition to the visibility of women in art, it was also important for us to encourage women in science in Armenia. On March 28, in cooperation with the “Eastern Partnership” (EA) and the “Women’s Fund Armenia“, a meeting was organized with young scientist-students Shoghik Ghazaryan and Hasmik Torosyan.The goal was to involve mostly teenage and young girls who are in the process of choosing their profession, and to inspire them with the example of Shoghik and Hasmik, who introduced their story about how they chose their profession, what opportunities are available for young scientists in Armenia and Europe.
This year, in order to make March 8 more significant, the WRC volunteers carried out a street action. Advertising posters were prepared for the campaign with the information about various pre-holiday discounts, because in Armenia March 8 has turned into a holiday for giving “gendered” gifts to women. After scanning the QR codes of those “discounts”, posters appeared on people’s phone screens announcing that March 8 is International Women’s Rights Day. These posters made people aware of domestic violence, women’s unpaid work and the true meaning of March 8.
Regular meetings of the “Girls Talk” program began in May. During 6 meetings, we had discussions with 15 teenage girls about self-awareness, self-esteem, positive perception of the body, feminism, feminist motivation and many other topics.
An art-activist camp was organized in the city of Artik from June 17 to 18, during which we learned what feminism, art-activism are, together with young girls from the Artik community and other settlements of the Shirak region. We also developed and implemented graffiti and zine ideas together. You can get the zine of the girls of Vardakar village from our center.
In July, WRC was full of themed workshops. Participants had the opportunity to choose which workshop they wanted to participate in: tufting, art therapy, and art activism. During the 4 meetings of each workshop, the participants learned handicraft skills, got acquainted with the connection between art and activism, and discovered their inner world through art. A total of 20 people participated in all workshops.
Advocacy of Women’s Rights
On February 21, the “Women, peace and security agenda in Armenia” consultative meeting was held at WRC with various representatives of civil society. The aim of the meeting was to discuss the participation of different groups of women in the work of promotion of human safety.
On April 17, another consultation meeting was held jointly with the “Women’s Fund Armenia”, this time with representatives of organizations working with women living in border communities. During the meeting, the needs of women living in border settlements and their participation in the decision-making process were discussed.
On March 7, on the eve of International Women’s Rights Day, WRC organized “Women’s rights in the context of multiple crises: Challenges and opportunities” round table-discussion. The purpose of the meeting was to create a platform for dialogue between the state and civil society representatives, where we would discuss the challenges of women’s rights in the post-war period, as well as what to do together in terms of global security issues.
On May 3, 2023, the RA National Assembly adopted the RA Law on Amendments and Additions to the RA Labor Code in its second reading. WRC and Sexual Assault Crisis Center have been actively working with decision-makers for the past two years, advocating for the definition, prohibition and protection mechanisms of sexual harassment in the workplace.
On April 3, the WRC presented the results of the study “The Problem of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace in Armenia” at an event organized together with the “Solidarity Center” Armenian branch. The presentation of the study was attended by representatives of the RA government, deputies of the National Assembly, non-governmental organizations engaged in human rights activities, and the media. During the event, protection of the integrity and dignity of employees in the workplace, prevention of sexual harassment and the establishment of appropriate sanctions by the state policy were highlighted.
The issue of sexual harassment in the workplace is not studied profoundly in Armenia. That’s why the WRC initiated a study on this topic in 2022. 590 people from different regions of Armenia and Yerevan participated in the online survey. The majority of them are women, 94%, and the vast majority of them, 94%, are under the age of 39. The results of the survey can be found here.
On June 26, the RA National Assembly, during an extraordinary session, adopted the legislative package on making additions and amendments to the RA Laws “On Military Service and the Status of Servicemen” and “On Defense”. With these changes, the state introduced voluntary compulsory military service for women. We raised our concerns about the problematic nature of the arrangements on June 21. The urgent adoption of the law was not preceded by a public discussion with human rights organizations dealing with women’s rights. Our position on the project can be found here.
We regularly inform the international community about Azerbaijan’s blockade of Nagorno Karabakh, which affects the realization of women’s rights. The 7-month-long blockade by Azerbaijan has caused a humanitarian crisis and loss of human lives in the unrecognized republic. Find our announcement in English here:
Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights
Every year, in February, we celebrate Sexual Health Week and this year it was celebrated on February 13-17. This is an annual campaign that aims to raise awareness about sexual and reproductive health. This year’s slogan was #LeadwithFacts, within the framework of which various informative posts were published on the topic of “Healthy sexual relations”.
During the months of January-August of this year, regular two-day training courses were organized for family doctors and obstetricians-gynecologists, during which we talked with medical workers about the reproductive health problems of different groups of women, as well as the principles of a non-discriminatory approach during the medical service․ This time, 152 medical workers from different regions of Armenia and Yerevan participated in the trainings. The training is certified by the Ministry of Health, as a result of which health workers receive 6 theoretical credits of medical education free of charge.
On April 7, WRC organized an information course on the topic “Menstrual Cycle”, during which we discussed issues related to the topic and answered the questions of the participants.
During the months of May-July, 2 groups of information trainings for pregnant women were organized by an obstetrician, in which 22 pregnant women participated, and within which a number of important topics related to pregnancy and childbirth were presented from a feminist perspective.
The “Reproductive Rights Advocacy Network” of WRC worked with the Ministry of Education and Science throughout the semester on the reproductive health section of the “Healthy Lifestyle” manuals, implementing a series of reforms, in particular, all topics related to sexual and reproductive health were reviewed and proposals were made to make the topics more comprehensive and sensitive.
Capacity building of women’s CSOs
In the beginning of 2023, the WRC launched a partnership with 5 new organizations to which it provided sub-grants for capacity building. An assessment of the needs of organizations was carried out, on the basis of which a training plan was developed. In March-July, 15 trainings on 11 topics were organized in order to develop the capacities of CSOs. The number of participants in the courses was 130. The call for sub-grants for advocacy programs was announced, as a result of which 4 organizations received grants.
Psychological meetings
Starting from February, personal growth meetings were held with 5 groups. 6 meetings were held with each of them. The meetings are based on the expectations of each group, the main topics are related to self-attitude, characteristics of interpersonal relationships, expression of emotions, feelings and the impact of the country’s situation on women’s mental health. A total of 29 participants participated in the personal growth groups.
3 consecutive meetings were held on the topic of “Features of the manifestation of psychological trauma and the peculiarities of work with trauma”, with the WRC employees. During these meetings, the features of psychological trauma, the main mechanisms and useful tools for working with people with traumatic experiences were discussed with the participants.
Our psychologists provided also individual psychological counseling for women activists (46 hours in total).
Free legal consultancy services to women
The number of legal support calls we received this semester is approximately 100. The calls are mostly from Yerevan and are about matrimonial and property related issues.
International conferences
From July 17 to 20, WRC’s co-founders and executive director participated in Women Deliver Conference 2023 in Kigali, Rwanda. The Conference convened more than 6000 people to discuss collective action to advance gender equality, the future of feminist movement, and creating spaces.
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