UN Women Moldova and Premier Energy have signed a collaboration agreement to combat violence against women and promote gender equality ​

Credit: UN Women/ Stela Donțu

UN Women Moldova and Premier Energy decided to collaborate in achieving two common objectives: awareness raising on the necessity of eliminating gender-based violence, and promoting gender equality at community level. This partnership will continue for a period of one year, starting with an extensive campaign promoting the elimination of gender-based violence. One of the first activities to be implemented is a wide distribution of messages encouraging people facing violence or those who know people facing gender-based violence to report cases or to request help they need. This activity is implemented within „16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence” global campaign, messages being printed on electricity bills. The bills will be distributed to over 920 thousands of enhabitants living in central and Southern part of the country.

Credit: UN Women/ Stela Donțu

„The cooperation between Premier Energy and UN Women Moldova comes to reiterate the importance of broad partnership and engagement of private sector as well in combating gender inequalties and gender-based violence. We do believe each of us is responsible for advancing gender equality. Service providers, employers, people working in legal and political system, have the power to promote values of equality and mutual respect in their families, communities and in the society. These values are closely connected with creating an environment where girls and women feel safe and are able to fullu exercise their human rights. We do beleive a collaboration with private sector is important in terms of achieving this goal”, Dominika Stojanoska, UN Women Moldova country representative, mentioned.

Credit: UN Women/ Stela Donțu

„We support the effort made by UN Women Moldova within „16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence”, campaign because we strongly believe that a society can become strong and healthy if the non-violence principle is respected, being applied to all its members, both in family life and at workplace. Premier Energy in Moldova believes that private sector can become an example in this regard, promoting messages and conducting awareness raising campaigns to combat such phenomenons as violence and discrimination against women. In our entreprises, we always cultivate diversity and inclusion among employees. More precisely, 34% of our top managers are women. In this context, I would like to remind that we work in a field somehow considered as designed predominantly for men. Our Existing internal policies in Moldova ensure professional equality between women and men, discouraging and disapproving any manifestation of sexual harassment, discrimination and/or violence.”, the country director of Premier Energy Moldova, Jose Luis Gomez Pascual, said.

Credit: UN Women/ Stela Donțu

By signing this agreement, UN Women underlines the imperative necessity of collaborating with private sector in terms of building an equal society. This partnership will contribute to promoting values of Premier Energy, which harness the potential of women employees, looks into initiatives such as Women’s Empowermnet Principles, aims at promoting a higher employment rate among women, and creating sustainable workplaces.

The „16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence” campaign kicks off on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and runs untill 10 December, Human Rights Day. This year, the global theme of the campaign is „End violence against women now!”.