UN Women Moldova starts 10 cooperation agreements with civil society organizations from Moldova

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UN Women Moldova starts 10 cooperation agreements with civil society organizations from Moldova
Credit: UN Women/Janarbek Amankulov

UN Women has signed 10 Project Cooperation Agreements (PCAs) with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from the Republic of Moldova, which will contribute to the realization of UN Women Moldova Strategic Note 2018-2022.

The NGOs have been selected following a competitive process launched in December 2017 in which they submitted proposals of how they could contribute towards achieving expected results in one or more of UN Women’s impact areas: Women’s political participation and in decision-making; Women’s economic empowerment; Ending violence against women.

Asya Varbanova, Acting Representative of UN Women Moldova, stated: “Over the next one to two years, our partner non-governmental organizations will implement projects aimed at bridging the gap between de jure and de facto realization of women’s rights and gender equality in Moldova in the political, public, economic, social and family life. We look forward to working with them, and in collaboration with our government partners at national and local level towards a better life for women and men in Moldova.”

More specifically, under the Impact area “Women lead and participate in decision-making at all levels” UN Women will work with:

  • Center Partnership for Development, based in Chișinău, to promote further strengthening of the legislative framework on women's participation in decision-making; support public servants from line ministries to mainstream gender equality and gender sensitive budgeting in public policies; and prevent and combat sexual harassment and discrimination in the police and defense sectors;
  • Contact - Cahul, located in Cahul, to enhance the skills and knowledge of at least 140 women from diverse groups for successful participation in political life of the country, in view of upcoming parliamentary and local elections, and to strengthen local and regional NGOs’ capacities in advancing women’s participation;
  • Gender - Center, based in Chișinău, to strengthen capacities of public officials, including those in the security sector, to integrate gender perspective in policy making; to increase women’s knowledge and motivation to aspire for public and political office, and to demand their rights and equal opportunities; to increase public support for women’s political participation;
  • Institute for Democracy, located in Comrat, to increase the participation of women from the two banks of the Nistru river in the political life of the country, with focus on engaging teachers and young women.

Under the impact area “Women have income security, decent work and economic autonomy”, UN Women will work with:

  • National Association of ICT Companies (ATIC), located in Chișinău, to encourage and support women and girls to develop their Information and Communications Technology (ICT) skills and to pursue a career in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) through non-formal education activities;
  • Center Partnership for Development, based in Chișinău, to carry out analysis, policy recommendations and advocacy related to tackling the gender pay gap and better reconciliation of work and family life for women and men, as well as to undertake research that addresses knowledge gaps in the area of women’s economic empowerment.

Finally, under the “Women and girls live a life free of violence” impact area, UN Women will join forces with the following NGOs:

  • Asociatia Obsteasca “Artemida”, based in Drochia, to increase knowledge among women and girls on their rights and the available services for preventing and assisting in cases of domestic violence and to support multi-disciplinary teams consisting of service providers to improve their capacities to respond to domestic violence;
  • Youth Media Centerlocated in Chișinău, to raise awareness among youth about the ways to prevent violence against women and to engage different groups, specifically parents, local authorities, and civil society/citizen groups in dialogue on gender equality in the family and in public life;
  • Asociatia Obștească “Vesta”, located in Comrat, to work in targeted communities to organize local events and social theater performances in order to sensitize the public on gender stereotypes and gender discrimination and to advance favorable social norms that prevent violence against women and girls;
  • Women’s Law Centre, based in Chișinău, to strengthen capacities of law enforcement and justice professionals to apply international norms and standards in response to violence against women and to support further aligning the national legislation with the Istanbul Convention.

The Project Cooperation Agreements have a duration between 9 and 24 months, within the period 2018-2020. They are funded by the Government of Sweden and UN Women.