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Program Overview
In September 2001, the Mission to the Russian Federation of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) selected IREX to administer the Trafficking Prevention and Information Dissemination (TPID) program in Russia. The three-year TPID program was designed to combat the trafficking of women in Russia by creating viable alternatives for at-risk women, ages 15 to 30-empowering them with individual training and awareness that builds confidence and professional experience while creating new economic opportunities.
The program was structured to combat trafficking in women through the realization of four objectives:
- Develop a network of empowerment centers across four regions, based on existing crisis centers for the prevention of domestic violence in major trafficking cities of Russia-Moscow, Ekaterinburg, Petrozavodsk, and Krasnodar;
- Create practical economic alternatives for vulnerable women in high-risk areas of Russia by developing new professional opportunities, such as a professional internship program, and the demand-driven basic skills training to realize them, such as practical business skills and micro-enterprise development training;
- Empower at-risk women and victim-returnees by building initiative and self-esteem through individual psychological and legal counseling, peer support, mentoring, and training; and
- Disseminate information through innovative education campaigns, which will engage the local community through strategic alliances with local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), community leaders, and governmental organizations to promote awareness of trafficking and engage policymakers and community actors in finding solutions to the problem.
IREX is committed to collaborating with experienced local and international organizations in the prevention of trafficking in women. IREX's strategy applies and adapts the successful model of the USAID-funded Program to Support Crisis Centers for Women in Russia (WCC), relying on local capacity to address social issues.
IREX is developing a network of empowerment centers based on three well-established women's crisis centers for victims of domestic violence, and previous grant recipients under WCC. This network of "Ekaterina" in Ekaterinburg, "Maya" in Petrozavodsk, and "Obereg" in Krasnodar, all tied into a fourth crisis center, "Syostri" in Moscow, penetrates major trafficking corridors for the delivery of anti-trafficking information, education, and support services in order to empower women with the skills and knowledge to effectively avoid the risks of trafficking schemes.
The TPID program is now completed.
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