OSCE staff raise funds for domestic violence shelter in Montenegro

OSCE Men for Gender Equality, an informal group of staff from the OSCE Secretariat, conducted a fundraiser from March 8 to April 7 in support of efforts to respond to gender-based violence that raised EUR 3,000.

The fundraiser was prompted by reports across the OSCE area of an increase in gender-based violence since the outbreak of Covid-19, and was aimed at raising awareness about violence against women among OSCE staff, and funding for a shelter doing inspiring work.

OSCE Men for Gender Equality chose to donate the funds in their entirety to ‘Woman’s Safe House’, a shelter in Montenegro working to protect survivors of domestic violence and mitigate its psychological effects. The funds were received on 14 June by the shelter, which planned to immediately utilize them to furnish a prefabricated house previously donated by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro that increased the capacity of the shelter to accommodate women and child victims of violence from 13 to 18 places.

“With this donation from OSCE Men for Gender Equality, we will be able to equip the prefabricated house with educational content for children, small household appliances, kitchenware, carpets, curtains, bedding, and material for occupational workshops, ensuring that it can effectively and comfortably accommodate child and women victims of violence”, said a representative of Woman’s Safe House. “The donation is also significant, as it will enable us to contribute to making an access path to the shelter for people with disabilities.”

OSCE Men for Gender Equality was delighted to be able to make a small contribution to the important work of Woman’s Safe House, and will continue to take tangible action to speak out against gender-related inequalities and combat gender-based violence in the OSCE area.