OSI Resource Page

Public Organization Crisis Psychological Center for Women and Families SEZIM

and the Public Association Internews Kyrgyz Republic

Domestic violence awareness raising in Kyrgyz mass media

1. Project objective

The overall goal of the project is to build awareness for domestic violence issues through extensive media coverage and public round-tables. The timing of the project will allow us to target electronic mass media audience as well as print media readership at the same time during the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence and therefore reach a large portion of the 4.5 million citizens in the Kyrgyz Republic.

Parts of the round-table meetings and parts of the TV program will focus on the lack of a law on domestic violence in the Kyrgyz Republic. A draft law was discussed in the Jogorku Kenesh, the Kyrgyz parliament, in 2000, but not passed; there remains no legal framework on domestic violence. Raising awareness with the TV program will helps us initiate an advocacy campaign to collect signatures and to approach the parliament with a petition to reconsider the draft law on domestic violence, after reworking it with recommendations made by the OSCE office in Bishkek. The round-tables proposed in this project will be the start of the petition drive. Sezim and Internews will also cooperate on the collection of signatures with the local branch of the international organization Amnesty International. The Kyrgyz branch was recognized by the AI secretariat in London on May 12, 2000. The group (10-20 volunteers) will join Sezim and Internews before and during the 16 Days of Activism and will collect signatures for the petition to the Kyrgyz parliament.

Sezim will be responsible for script-writing and the organization of round-table meetings in Bishkek, Talas, Balykchi, Naryn, Kara-Kol, Jalal-Abad and Osh. Internews will produce the TV program in cooperation with the Sezim researcher and will then guarantee the distribution and broadcasting of the program through partner stations in most of the above mentioned cities (Pyramida TV in Bishkek, Osh TV in Osh, Ayan TV in Naryn, EM-TV in Kara-Kol and VOSST in Bishkek). Stations Erkin Ala-Too and Keremet in Osh, Tatina Mass Media Center in Kara-Balta and KTM in Maili-Suu, may also air the program. If new stations TITV in Talas and Echo Manas in Jalal-Abad are broadcasting in November they will also air the program.

A list of media outlets which will participate directly in the Sezim/Internews project is attached as win.file.

 

1. Description of proposed grant request objectives, activities of the project and expected results

• Objectives: Cooperation between Sezim and Internews will create an unprecedented cooperation between an NGO focusing on women’s issues, a media assistance NGO, and local and regional mass media in the Kyrgyz Republic. With this special program on domestic violence issues, we will be able to reach a majority of the 4.5 million Kyrgyz citizens. The 30-minute show will be produced by Sezim and Internews. An experienced researcher and the project director from Sezim will work with the Internews producer on the script, and the Internews production team (cameraman, tape editor) will shoot the film. Internews will distribute the film to TV stations in Bishkek, Naryn, Kara-Kol, Talas, Jalal-Abad and Osh through Internews’ network of independent stations. This also guarantees nationwide coverage within the timeframe of the 16 Days of Activism Against Domestic Violence. TV coverage will be promoted by round-table meetings and awareness-building efforts provided under the grant by Sezim. The project director and her assistant will travel to regions of the Kyrgyz Republic and involve local authorities, local NGOs, local media and other interested parties in open discussions about problems surrounding the absence of a law on domestic violence and the day-to-day problems of women in the country. These activities will take place from November 25–December 10, 2001. The Sezim team traveling to the regions will use the public meetings to start a signature drive asking for the reconsideration of the draft law on domestic violence in the Kyrgyz parliament.

• produce a professional 30-minute TV film on domestic violence issues;

• distribute the film to stations in nearly all regions of the Kyrgyz Republic;

• broadcast the film to hundreds of thousands of people in Bishkek and regional centers (e.g. Naryn, Osh, Kara-Kol);

• discuss the current problems and the need for a law on domestic violence with local organizations, authorities and journalists during a cycle of round-tables nationwide;

• raise awareness for a very sensitive and important issue in the development of civil society in the Kyrgyz Republic.

• The need for a law on domestic violence in the Kyrgyz Republic, past discussion of the draft law in parliament, and future prospects for reconsideration of the law, with the inclusion of recommendations of the Bishkek OSCE office;

• Examples of domestic violence: victims and witnesses will speak about their experiences and show the full impact domestic violence has on individuals;

• How does domestic violence destroy a family and what steps can be taken to support the victims and charge the offenders;

• How can domestic violence be prevented–experts from NGOs and international organizations will offer advice and explain preventive measures;

• Domestic violence as a result of the difficult economic situation in the Kyrgyz Republic, analysis of reasons for domestic violence;

• Victims or offenders? At the present time more than 900 women are inmates of a prison colony in the Kyrgyz Republic, 130 of them are suspected of having killed their husbands. an examination of the reasons for this alarming development;

• Children and their experiences while growing up in an atmosphere of severe domestic violence—expectations for the future.

1. Planned activities

#	Activity / event	Description of activity	Executors	Dates
1	Production of a 30-minute feature film on domestic violence issues.	Work out a script, discuss it, approve, and tape.	Internews / Center Sezim	2 months
2	Coordinate efforts of NGOs to organize a 16-day campaign; Develop plan of activities (round tables, discussions, disputes, questionnaires (for participants) leaflets, etc.).	Meetings, exchange of information, contacts with interested state agencies (including opening of crisis consultation centers Sezim in five NGOs in Chui region).	Sezim and other NGOs	1 month
3	Develop a plan of joint activities with mass media.	Contact preliminarily various mass media outlets, adopt a strategy on wide scale coverage of the problem of violence.	Internews, Sezim and mass media outlets	2 weeks
4	Conduct a short-term seminar in Bishkek for universities and high schools on organizing special lectures and classes during the 16 Days of Activism.	Give information about forms of violence against women, ways to defend rights, preventive measures, activities of crisis centers, etc.	Sezim, Ministry of Education	1 month
5	Broadcast the video film on regional TV station channels.	Violence against women and the need for taking comprehensive, preventive measures.	Internews and independent TV stations	From November 25, 2001
6	Round table in Bishkek about launching a 16-day campaign, presentation of the video film, conducting a poll.	Discuss the problem of violence against women; develop recommendation on joint action (adoption of a special statement by participants of the round table); collection of signatures in support of the law "About family violence control" by parliament, state structures, with participation of NGOs and mass media.	Internews, Sezim, mass media, NGOs, deputies of parliament, state structure representatives, Amnesty International Kyrgyzstan	November 25, 2001
7	Round tables in seven regional cities of the country, Demonstrate video film and conduct quick polls.	Discuss the problem of violence against women; develop recommendation on joint actions (adoption of a special statement by participants of the round table); collection of signatures in support of considering and adoption of the Law "About family violence control" by the Parliament, state structures with participation of NGOs and mass media.	Internews, Sezim, mass media, NGOs and parliamentarians and state structure representatives	November 25— December 10, 2001
8	Public awareness campaign	Sezim and affiliated NGOs will make use of a campaign-truck with advertisement for the action. Also, in the center of Bishkek, Sezim will rent and equip an 18sqm billboard to raise public awareness.	Sezim and affiliated NGOs countrywide (about 20-25)	November 25–December 10, 2001
9	Wide coverage of violence problems in mass media.	Forms of violence against women, the need for struggle against violence and adoption of the law.	Teachers, students, school students, NGOs	November 25–December 10, 2001
10	Organize debates, school class discussions, etc. in various educational establishments.	Inform about forms of violence against women, ways to promote women's rights, preventive measures, and activities of Crisis Centers.	Sezim, Coalition of NGOs and other NGOs, Internews, mass media	December 10, 2001
11	March and meetings in the city of Bishkek (possibly in regions as well).	Draw public's attention to the existing violence against women and collect signatures in support for considering and adopting the Law on Domestic Violence.	Sezim, Coalition of NGOs, Internews, mass media
12	Press conference in Bishkek.	Discuss results of the campaign; take a special statement on adoption of the law, discuss results of the polls.	Sezim, Coalition of NGOs, Internews, mass media	December, 10, 2001

2. Expected results

The joint project of the Public Organization Crisis Psychological Center for Women and Families SEZIM and the Public Association Internews Kyrgyz Republic will start a new, public discussion and raise awareness on domestic violence in the Kyrgyz Republic. By using the mass media, the film will reach a potential audience of more than half of the Kygyz population. This program will raise awareness for domestic violence issues and will start discussions among the audience. This public awareness will be used by Sezim and the volunteers from Amnesty International Kyrgyz Republic to go into more detail during the round-table meetings and to collect signatures, in an attempt to bring the draft law on domestic violence back into parliament.

Furthermore, the national coverage will result in a higher public awareness of Sezim’s general projects and should encourage more victims to seek consultations from Sezim’s psychologists and use the 24 hour hotline the organization is offering.

The public meetings under the proposed project in Bishkek, Talas, Balykchi, Kara-Kol, Naryn, Jalal-Abad and Osh are expected to offer new ways of thinking about domestic violence in the Kyrgyz Republic. The meetings will be open and organizers (Sezim, Internews, Amnesty International Kyrgyz Republic) will encourage journalists and the public to investigate cases of domestic violence carefully and report on them, and hopefully to reduce incidence of such violence. National TV coverage of the event via the film will be a catalyst for these efforts. Sezim’s role as an organization actively working against domestic violence and for the support of the victims will be strengthened by the nationwide campaign during the 16 Days of Activism and will help the organization to establish itself as a strong NGO and an active part of civil society in the Kyrgyz Republic.

And finally, the collected signatures will serve as a signal for politicians that there is public support and an urgent demand for a law on domestic violence in the country.

3. Impact Assessment plan

With guaranteed nationwide coverage through television and other mass media (participants in the regional round-table meetings), the Public Organization Crisis Psychological Center for Women and Families Sezim expects to see an increasing number of phone calls from victims of domestic violence to the organization’s 24-hour hot line. This will result in a higher number of consultations, which is measurable in numbers similar to the number of phone calls and visitors to the center.

The impact of the campaign will be monitored by Sezim and their affiliated NGOs by means of lists of phone-calls and in-house consultations before and after the 16 Days of Activism. We expect to see a sharp rise in incoming phone-calls after the campaign was launched.

A valuable and significant output of the project will be the signatures gathered by Sezim staff with help from the group of Amnesty International Kyrgyz Republic. The lists will document the public support for the law on domestic violence which the organizers of the Kyrgyz participation in the plan to give to the Kyrgyz Jogorku Kenesh to get the draft law reconsidered in parliament. The signatures will also be representative of the public demand from the regions.

During the round-tables the organizers of the 16 Days of Activism will ask participants to fill out questionnaires to determine their knowledge of domestic violence issues and to find out more about individual recommendations from the participants. These questionnaires will be developed and later examined by Sezim staff and the Amnesty International Kyrgyz Republic group and the results and findings will be made public through the Sezim newsletter and through publication in mass media. Results from the early stages of the 16 Days of Activism will be ready for publication before the final round-table in Bishkek on December 10, 2001.

The broadcast of the program on Pyramida (Bishkek), VOSST (Bishkek), Osh TV (Osh), EM-TV (Kara-Kol) and Ayan TV (Naryn) will result in feedback from the audience and follow-up coverage on the issue from journalists after the of the 16 Days of Activism. Public discussion of the issue will also educate journalists about domestic violence issues and help them find alternative ways of covering and investigating these stories.

The intended and most practical outcome and impact of the project is the immediate success of the signature campaign, heightened awareness of domestic violence nationwide, and a reconsideration of the draft law in the Kyrgyz parliament, which could lead to the establishment of a functioning law protecting women and families from all forms of domestic violence.

Sezim will also give out anonymous questionnaires to approximately 1000 women in the whole country with a number of questions concerning domestic violence and the Sezim campaign. With the evaluation of the questionnaire, we intend to measure the knowledge and awareness of the issue and the result should be an indicator for the relevance of the public awareness campaign by Sezim and Internews. (A Russian version of the questionnaire is attached within the file "Sezim campaign documents".)