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Description
Women''s needs and interests appear marginal and are often missing from the public agenda in times of crisis. Data show that gender inequalities are deepening in the crisis. (Pasti, 2003, Miroiu 2004, Baluta, Braga, Iancu, 2011, UNCTAD, 2020 World Economic Forum, 2020, UN 2020). The UN recommends women and gender issues to be placed at the center of Covid 19 combat and recovery measures. In the context of Covid crisis, efforts need to be made in order to integrate a gender perspective in the measures to combat the crisis and in the post-recovery interventions. Within the project there will be conducted an information campaign addressing the gender impact of the crisis, an exploratory research on the experiences of women during the pandemic and advocacy activities. 20 videos showing women’s experiences and a research report with recommendations for (post) crisis measures.will be produced. The project aims to bring women''s perspective to public attention along with a better understanding of pandemic impact in their lives. Also, it is expected to get the endorsement of the recommendations for integrating the gender perspective into the (post) crisis measuresby relevant stakeholders / authorities. 60 women will benefit of an open and encouraging framework to express their experiences and will be directly involved in shaping the message and the measures to best reflect the impact of the pandemic in their lives and raise awareness on the gender issues in crisis. The public will benefit of real life based information campaign, while the authorities will benefit of research results and expertise on the gender issues into the (post) crisis period. The partnership with ANES (National Agency for Equal Opportunities), given its specific mission, ensures the sustainability of the measures proposed in the project and the multiplication of the results at a larger level.
Summary of project results
In times of crisis, women''s needs and interests are considered marginal and are often missing from the public agenda. Romania is already experiencing problems regarding gender equality in health. Given this, the necessity of integrating a gender perspective in the measures to combat the pandemic was necessary. The project aimed to map various experiences of women with different backgrounds during the pandemic, in order to contribute to the development of gender-sensitive public policies. Throughout the project, a research was conducted in order to identify the specific problems that women faced during this period. The research was composed of a questionnaire, answered by 443 people and 8 interviews with diverse women. The results were translated in English and French and disseminated to relevant stakeholders, to all parliamentary groups, several embassies and the most important central authorities. Moreover, a social media campaign was conducted, where 20 video testimonies were posted, reaching over 55,000 people and two journalistic articles were created in order to address gender violence and the double burden during the pandemic. In order to achieve concrete results, a round table was organized, in which 11 decision-makers, out of the 19 who participated, signed a commitment to include the gender dimension in post-crisis policies. The recommendations were also supported by a public petition with over 700 signatories, and based on them, an open letter was sent to the Romanian Government to draw attention to the importance of gender mainstreaming measures. Through the social media campaign, the organization’s followers are now more aware of the diversity and the magnitude of the problems women have faced; during the project, 400,000 people were reached online through more than 100 posts project-related.