As the CGF¡¯s implementing agency, UNIFEM, in cooperation with the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Xuzhou Municipal Government and Xuzhou Women¡¯s Federation, launched a new initiative to promote shelters for survivors of violence against women. The project, which reviews and assesses the experiences of the first ever government supported shelter, in Jiangsu, aims to replicate the model throughout the country.
The project, spearheaded by the Department of Social Welfare and Social Affairs in the Ministry of Civil Affairs, is one of seven grantees approved by the China Gender Facility for Research and Advocacy in the course of its second call for proposals. Violence against women is still very common in China, especially in the home, and it, along with a lack of alternative; a place to escape the abuse, is considered to be the primary cause of rural female suicide. The Law on the Protection of Women¡¯s Rights, revised and issued in August 2005, states that administrative agencies and departments should take responsibility to provide services for and assistance to domestic violence survivors. This project aims to study the Xuzhou Shelter, in operation since 2003, and build a replicable model, thereby increasing government and public recognition and draw attention to domestic violence and spreading the practice of setting up shelters to protect and support domestic violence survivors in the 1200 Social Relief Stations already present across China.
The launch of the project was scheduled around the International Day to Eradicate Violence against Women and raised publicity for the cause. Taxis around the city carried stickers with famous film stars advocating action to eliminate gender based violence and the contact details of the Xuzhou Shelter, pamphlets were distributed and the issue received considerable media attention. The launch was followed by a training workshop to Social Welfare Division chiefs from 5 provincial Department of Civil Affairs and 18 Managers of Social Relief Stations, in order to raise awareness of gender based violence among policy makers and implementers.
The CGF will study the Xuzhou case as well as other similar initiatives and develop a domestic violence shelter model for replication by the Ministry of Civil Affairs in the 1200 Social Relief Stations across China. Furthermore, the Xuzhou domestic violence shelter is also linked to overall UNIFEM assessment of activities aimed at ending violence against women in China with a view of developing a strategy to assist the government, NGOs and individuals to eliminate violence against women.
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