Centre for protection of women survivors of violence opened in Ungheni city of Moldova

Chisinau, 31 January /MOLDPRES/ -A regional centre for the protection of women survivors of violence has been opened in the Ungheni city, with the support of Japan and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The centre will provide accommodation and assistance to girls and women from the Ungheni districts and the neighbour districts.   

The Ungheni-based centre has a capacity of six chambers/18 beds and provides accommodation up to half a year and in emergency cases, up to one year. Legal and social assistance, psychological and vocational counseling, financial, digital education and for learning the skills of independent life are envisaged for women beneficiaries. An estimated number of over 150 people, of whom 35 will be accommodated, will benefit from the services of the regional centre.  

„Japan promotes the concept of human security within its humanitarian and development assistance. Through this concept, we put emphasis on the need to protect the people from the most vulnerable groups and to enable them, so that they can maintain by themselves and thus to keep the human dignity. I hope from the bottom of my heart that the women and girls feel in physical and emotional safety, once they have access to the services of this centre, which will provide them an environment of support and encouraging. I also hope that we can together manage to considerably diminish the gender-based violence through enabling women and girls and by the promotion of change,’’ Ambassador of Japan to Moldova Yoichiro Yamada said.         

The building where the centre is placed was renovated and endowed within a project financed by the government of Japan through the United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security and is implemented by UNDP, in partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The budget allocated, worth about 60,000 dollars, allowed turning the building of a community centre into a shelter. The space was renovated and restructured, so that it meets the quality standards and is accessible to people with disabilities. The centre’s team was trained, in order to provide qualitative services to women survivors of the gender-based violence and other beneficiaries.    

„The setting up of the Regional Centre of Assistance and Protection of Women Survivors of Domestic Violence from Ungheni, carried out through efforts of cooperation of local and international partners, brings a feeling of relief, knowing that it will provide the so necessary support to more than 150 women who survived the gender-based violence and other forms of abuse. The multidimensional support provided, especially through legal, social and mental health services, as well as through the mobile team, is an innovation which fully shows the comprehensive approach of the human security which we promote at UNDP,’’ UNDP Resident Representative in Moldova Daniela Gasparikova said.      

The gender-based violence continues to be widespread in Moldova. Even if the country has solid policies and a legal framework for the prevention and approaching of the gender-based violence, the high rate of violence between partners (73 per cent) shows the discrepancy between the policies and the experiences through which girls and women went. Over one third of the women with ages over 15 years went through the experience of physical and/or sexual violence on behalf of the partner.