May - July 2023

Violence against older Roma Women - 200.000 rsd

Hygienic products for Roma Women - 117.000 rsd

The vision of the Roma Women Center Bibija is the empowered Roma woman and an empowered Roma family. Our mission is to promote Roma women's rights, the right to education, employment, adequate health care, free choice of partner, life without violence, access to information, and participation and representation in order to change the position of Roma women in society. During 24 years of active work, RWC BIBIJA has realized 80 projects aiming at promotion of Roma women human rights and improvement of their position through work at the local, national and international level.

The state of emergency declared due to the COVID 19 pandemic, limited free movement and negatively impacted the society and the economy.

The latest analysis suggest that the quarantine and psychological tension could lead to the increase of domestic violence (DV) incidents, having a distinctly challenging impact on those who live in an abusive relationship. By providing support to Roma women who have experienced violence during the pandemic, Bibija learned that domestic violence has occurred more than usual as family spend much more time at home together. Persons who make income in insecure and jobs in grey economy were first affected. Poverty exacerbated by the pandemic has caused more family disputes.

The aim of the project is to provide immediate and direct support to 30 Roma women to initiate better responses at the local level when it comes to gender-based violence, especially toward elderly Roma women.

Beneficiaries of the project are 30 elderly Roma women who participated in the research and who survived the violence and/or are still in that situation. By elderly, we mean 50+, since the average life expectancy of Roma women in Serbia is 48 years. Workshops would be delivered by the psychotherapist and Bibija activists, based on previously jointly developed methodology.

After a preparation phase in May 2023, Bibija carried out the field work in June. On the one hand they held workshops in two different settlement in Belgrade. At the end of those workshops hygienic packages were handed out to the Roma women. During the month of June, not only the workshops were held, but Bibija also presented their work to Serbian politicians where Charity Committee members could also participate. On June 13th we had a meeting with Igor Jovanović, the deputy of the city assembly, and on June 23rd Bibija presented their work to Nataša Tasić Knežević, a parliamentary worker.