"Sisters" without money

Due to the law on "foreign agents" in Moscow, the center for helping the victims of sexual violence "sister" was left without money

In Moscow, under the threat of liquidation, an independent charitable center for helping the survivor of the sexual violence of the "sister" was found. In April 2014, the Center celebrated its 20th anniversary, and by the end of December it turned out: there was no funds for its further existence. The receipt of foreign grants is difficult in the introduction of the so -called law on "foreign agents", and in recent years, Russian grantors prefer to work with projects for the education of patriotism.

Tens of thousands of calls to the helpline. Psychological consultations and legal support of hundreds of victims of sexual violence annually. Methodological developments and trainings for lawyers, psychologists, doctors who explain, helping to better understand how to support people who have experienced sexual violence on how to work with them. All this is currently the only capital of an independent charitable center for helping the Sex Sisters who survived the sexual violence. There is no money to work further. So the "sisters" end their anniversary year - in April the center turned 20 years old.

The Sisters Center in 1994 founded a group of women who realized that people who survived sexual violence need specific and completely special support. Since then, the "sisters" have helped all survivor rape or sexual violence for free and anonymously, especially those who, due to different circumstances, were difficult to get help anywhere else. Now the help was required by the employees of the center.

In December, his leader Maria Mokhova wrote on her page on one of the social networks: “I probably forgot how to write applications. Or maybe against the backdrop of all the shocks, the problem of sexual violence in Russia solved. Or it is so small and invisible that our grant operators give 4.5 million to the project“ Eat Russian ”, but no one! There were 3 competitions. We flew ....”

According to Maria Mokhova , the problems began after the adoption of the so -called law on foreign agents in Russia:

- All these years, we wrote applications to international funds and received money to work. Recently, in connection with the law "On foreign agents", we have lost the opportunity to receive Western grants. Firstly, because international organizations do not really want to give money to Russia-this is scary, and secondly: fixed assets that were, they all left Russia, did not become the Ford Foundation, the Soros Foundation, the European commission turns its grant program, the embassies stopped making grant programs because they do not want to substitute Russian NPOs. And as a result, we have the opportunity to receive presidential grants or somehow look for financing yet.

This year there were three competitions of presidential grants, and in none of them we received funding

This year there were three competitions of presidential grants, and in none of them we received funding. Everything is introduced into sufficiently formal frames. There are some experts who somehow evaluate your application. At the same time, if the expert, for example, is not familiar with the topic of sexual violence, or he considers it insignificant, or it is not relevant for him, he simply says: it is not interesting, why is it? In addition, there is state policy, it is now aimed at young people, at patriotism and so on. In this part, our state does not want to talk to us, because it is believed that the issues of sexual violence a) are very close to the promotion of homosexuality, lesbianism or I don’t know what else, b) this is not the problem that we must talk about, raising patriotism in children, ”said Maria Mokhova .

Over the twenty years of the existence of the Sisters Center, the consultants of his trust phone phone processed more than 70 thousand appeals. Now you can’t get through there - the number is disconnected for non -payment.

“We received 75 thousand calls from people,” continues Maria Mokhova , “but, of course, it seems to me that the number of victims directly is less than a little, because sometimes people call two, and three times to the trust phone. If the number per year, then approximately we have 300 cases per year. These are those who come to us for a consultation with whom we will work, provide psychological assistance and provide legal support. Our topic is very specific, and the preparation of psychologists who work, and the preparation of lawyers who work with survivors of sexually violence, it should be a little different than for psychologists and lawyers who work in home violence. For example, lawyers who work in domestic violence, they work more as part of civil law. And we almost always have a criminal law and these are criminal cases.

We have approximately 300 cases per year

Unfortunately, I can’t say that there is a center that can be full of replacing us. I went specifically to a crisis center for women, which the state was trying to transfer, maybe even our documents, our achievements, because if the "sisters" are nevertheless liquidated, I am very sorry for our methodological center, it is very sorry for all that we have developed. And I realized that they, firstly, are not interested in this, and secondly, they will not do this anyway. Because they have a very clear gradation, only a woman and only a Muscovite can get help. This moment seems to be not very important, but, nevertheless, a huge number of people who are in Moscow, the same students, for example, do not have Moscow registration. Then there is a spending of budget money, which is not always under great control: “You first prove that you have the right to receive help from us, and then we will help you. And the position of the Center of the Sisters is always unconditional: Call us, we are nearby,” says Maria Mokhova .

“Our mission is noted on the website of the Sisters Center ,“ to contribute to the creation of relations in the society in which there is no place for sexual violence and mockery, and the victim is not accused of what has become rape, incest or any other form of violence. No one wants to be raped, no one deserves this. ”

Now the employees of the Sisters Center, who have been working in naked enthusiasm over the past two years, are trying to launch a crowdfunding campaign on the Internet to find the donors of the project, to help him survive and that means help those who have experienced sexual violence.