KOLOT Update - 01.11.02

 

Update from the Field: Kolot – Women’s Voices

In January, Anna Stepanova, Russian community activist, gave an update on the progress of  “Kolot,” a State Department-funded advocacy project to combat domestic violence in two Russian communities, Tula and Voronezh.

At an event organized by Jewish Women International (JWI) and the Peace Corps in Washington, DC, Stepanova spoke about the process of establishing a public education campaign and resources for domestic violence victims in Tula.  The project, undertaken jointly by NCSJ, JWI, Project Kesher and the Russian Jewish Congress, intends to build out from the Jewish community and act as a model for similar initiatives in other faith communities.

Stepanova impressed the audience with the breadth and speed of the program’s development since October 2000, when Lesley Weiss, NCSJ Director of Community Relations and Cultural Affairs, and Diane Gardsbane, JWI Director of Programs, first visited Tula and Voronezh.

Nine women from the Russian communities came to the United States in January 2001 to undergo training in the prevention of domestic violence, including site visits to various shelters and related facilities.  The activists then returned home to implement programs based on those they had studied in the United States.

The Tula community representatives, including Stepanova, first gathered data on domestic violence in the Tula region.  Later, through extensive contacts in the media, NGOs, the private sector and the Tula Oblast administration, they instituted a public education campaign.  This initiative harnessed a range of resources for women, children and men seeking help from domestic abuse situations.  Program leaders have also approached the oblast police and found them receptive to the idea of integrating domestic violence prevention into their training.

Apart from a domestic abuse hotline for Tula, the project is the first of its kind and certainly the first comprehensive effort to address the problem of domestic violence in the region.  Stepanova acknowledged that this is but the first step in a long and slow process toward changing attitudes and official response to domestic violence.

Weiss and Gardsbane, who also spoke at the Peace Corps event, will visit Tula and Voronezh in May 2002 to carry out additional training for local activists.