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IREX Launches Regional Anti-Trafficking and Support Programs for Women

November 2001

Washington, DC-The International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX) is pleased to announce a new initiative in programming to address the crisis in trafficking of women. IREX has received three separate awards totaling $2.5 million from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) of the US Department of State; the International Labor Affairs Bureau (ILAB) of the US Department of Labor; and the Mission to the Russian Federation of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for trafficking prevention initiatives. IREX's approach focuses on collaboration with local and international organizations. Its regional scope spans Bulgaria, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Lithuania, Moldova, Romania, and the Russian Federation.

Under the Prevention of Trafficking in Women and Girls Program, a one-year project funded by the Office of Citizen's Exchanges at ECA, IREX is partnering with two Russian crisis centers for women-the Saratov Regional Crisis Center and the Barnaul "Women's Alliance." Over the course of the project, IREX and its partners will improve the institutional capacities of the centers in addressing trafficking in women and girls; carry out educational campaigns at all levels of the community; and hold seminars for nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), educational
institutions, and orphanages, to engage them as active partners in a campaign to prevent the trafficking of women and girls in Western Siberia and Southern Russia.

The Regional Empowerment Initiative for Women, a two-year project funded by ILAB of the US Department of Labor, addresses the root economic issues associated with the trafficking of women. IREX will establish seven centers collocated with experienced local women's NGOs in major cities of Bulgaria, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Lithuania, Moldova, Romania, and the Russian Federation to provide basic job skills training and placement support for at-risk women; promote women's empowerment, including crisis hotline assistance as well as practical skills and confidence building for victims and potential victims; raise awareness of labor laws, the risks of employment abroad, and potential trafficking schemes through targeted public outreach campaigns; and provide small grants to support women entrepreneurs in the creation of sustainable enterprises.

The Trafficking Prevention and Information Dissemination Program (TPID), a three-year project funded by the Mission to the Russian Federation of USAID, is also built on the conviction that economic alternatives and individual empowerment for women are critical in addressing the trafficking issue. IREX has partnered with four crisis centers to develop a regional network of empowerment centers in Russia. "Ekaterina" in Ekaterinburg, "Maya" in Petrozavodsk, and "Obereg" in Krasnodar-all tied into "Syostri" in Moscow-will provide women with demand-driven basic skills training, such as practical business skills and micro-enterprise development training, in addition to leadership training and psychological, legal, and peer support. Women participating in center activities will also have the opportunity to apply their expanded skill set in real job environments through more than 400 internships over the course of the program. An education campaign will engage the local community for increased public awareness of trafficking at a grassroots level and engage policymakers and community actors in finding solutions to the problem.

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