2006
Rapid Response Grants – Urgent Action Fund
Approved – June 2006.
Number of grants: 2
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1. Labris – organization for lesbian human rights, Belgrade
- CSD: 104.350,00 – the costs of bus renting Belgrade-Zagreb-Belgrade
- Name of the project: “Internacionala Pride 2006, Zagreb – To live freely!”
- Project goal: In last couple of years, LGBT groups in Serbia was faced with numerous problems which influenced the quality of their work and communication between LGBT groups themselves and other groups close to them. Internacionala Pride 2006 in Zagreb, Croatia, represents the first time organized group departure (not on the individual level, as so far) and it happened on the initiative of female and male LGBT activists themselves. It has a big political, activist, cultural and emotional importance for them. Internacionala Pride is three-day event including Pride parade, broadcasting of documentaries with Pride subject matter from the country and the whole region, round table on topic “Freedom of gathering and violence on Pride events”. This event is increasing the visibility of LGBT groups and influencing the sensitivity of society on sexual minorities issue and acceptance of diversities. The values and messages of this manifestation consider human rights, rights of sexual minorities, labor rights, women’s rights and gender equality issue.
2. “Women’s Center” Uzice
- CSD: 121.276,00
- Name of the project: “Stop health rights violation of pregnant women and children by health workers”
- Project goal: Revealing irregularities of health services in local Medical Center. These irregularities are unprompted and unprofessional work of gynecologists and medical malpractice. One of the accidents which initiated this project is the case of the pregnant woman, regular patient of the Medical Center, who waited 3 days after the breaking of the amnion till labor, “cause her gynecologist wasn’t on duty” and his colleagues refused to deliver her. That way, they endangered her life and the life of her baby and immediately after the labor they had to be put under antibiotic therapy. The other problem that is addressed by this project is the corruption of doctors – every time they expect certain amount of money from the pregnant women or their families as a guarantee for no labor complications. The other woman who called Women’s Center Uzice is the woman of Muslim nationality, who has just given birth and didn’t get professional medical care which is example of ethnic based discrimination in this hospital. Other complaints were about decision of the Medical Centre Managing Board to charge fee for each hospital day of mothers who escort their sick children age up to one year old. Since the women usually don’t have the money to pay these hospital days, they are obliged to leave the children alone in the hospital, which directly makes the medical treatment of these children more difficult, since it’s a big stress for them in that age to be separated from the mothers. Activists of Women’s Center Uzice reacted promptly and planned to conduct anonymous questionnaire with women who gave the birth in this Medical Center to research the behavior of gynecologist and eventual other irregularities of their work. They will get the data about women from the statistics office of city council. After this research they will arrange the meeting with the representatives of the hospital management and ask them to reduce or totally suspend hospital day fees for mothers, since they already have an information that these fees are much more cheaper in other medical centers in Serbia. After this meeting and data collecting they will address the Government Council for Gender Equality asking them to officially address Ministry of Health and ask the establishment of regular controls in medical centers and possibility to denounce any kind of irregularities of health services.
- Public debate about these issues is the eventual follow up of this project.
