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Viewing cable 08WARSAW1425, Poland - 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08WARSAW1425 2008-12-16 13:07 2011-08-24 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Warsaw
VZCZCXRO7446
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHWR #1425/01 3511307
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 161307Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY WARSAW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7502
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 WARSAW 001425 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
G/IWI for Andrea Bottner 
IIP/P for EHart 
 
E. O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KWMN PREL KPAO PHUM OPPI SCUL PL
SUBJECT: Poland - 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence 
 
REF: (A) STATE 104830, (B) STATE 125694 
 
1. (U) Summary. Mission Poland actively participated in the 2008 
international campaign "16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based 
Violence" by raising awareness of the problem through a series of 
profiles posted on Embassy Warsaw's website of individuals and 
institutions actively working against gender-based violence in 
Poland. The campaign culminated in a DCM-hosted lunch, which 
celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of 
Human Rights and furthered the development of a women's rights 
network in Poland. End Summary. 
 
2. (U) U.S. Embassy sponsored a campaign to raise awareness of the 
problem of violence against women in Poland.  The campaign began on 
November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence 
Against Women (Ref A), and concluded on December 10, the 60th 
Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Ref B). 
Embassy Warsaw and Consulate Krakow collectively assembled a list of 
individuals who are active in combating gender-based violence in 
Poland, including national government officials, artists, NGOs 
leaders, and academics, and invited them to respond to five specific 
questions.  Based on their responses, we posted the profile of a 
different activist each day at the top of the Embassy website during 
the "16 Days" campaign.  The results are fascinating individual 
profiles and a collective snap shot of the contemporary situation of 
women in Poland, what has been done, and their hopes for the future. 
 
 
3. (U) Our campaign culminated with a DCM-hosted lunch on December 
10, to correspond with the 60th anniversary of the Universal 
Declaration of Human Rights and as a way of emphasizing that human 
rights are women's rights.  The gathering included a lively 
discussion among some of the individuals profiled and 
representatives of their organizations.  The lunch was also attended 
by editors from Poland's leading newspapers Rzeczpospolita and 
Gazeta Wyborcza's Wysokie Obsacy (a weekly section on women's 
issues). 
 
4. (U) The 16 individuals and institutions profiled were as 
follows: 
 
Day 1: Manuela Gretkowska, Writer and founder of the Women's Party 
 
Day 2: Renata Durda, Head of the National Emergency Center for 
Victims of Domestic Violence, also known as "Blue Line" 
 
Day 3: Malgorzata Tarasiewicz, Director of the NEWW Association 
(Network of East-West Women) in Gdansk 
 
Day 4: Monika Ksieniewicz, Coordinator for International Cooperation 
in the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy's Department of Women, 
Family and Combating Discrimination 
 
Day 5: Marta Lewandowska, Chairperson of OPTA Association 
 
Day 6: Iwona Wisniewska, Director of the Center for Victims of 
Violence in Krakow 
 
Day 7: Joanna Piotrowska, President of Feminoteka Foundation 
 
Day 8: Agata Zakrzewska, Director of Women's Right Center in Lodz 
 
Day 9: Dorota Krzyszton, Coordinator for the Ombudsman's program of 
Assistance for Victims of Violence 
 
Day 10: Stana Buchowska, Director and Co-Founder of LaStrada, 
Poland 
 
Day 11: Grazyna Pisarczyk, Head of Specialist Center for Victims of 
Domestic Violence in Kielce 
 
Day 12: Joanna Szurlej, President of "Our Chance" Association of 
Bieszczady Women and the Director of the Specialized Support Center 
"SOS" in Lesko for victims of domestic violence 
 
Day 13: Beata Gruszczynska,Criminologist, University of Warsaw, 
Coordinator of the International Violence against Women Survey 
(IVAWS) in Poland 
 
Day 14: Beata Kozak, Editor in chief of feminist magazine Zadra and 
a member of eFKa Women's Foundation in Krakow 
 
Day 15: Urszula Nowakowska, Chairperson of Women's Rights Center 
 
Day 16: Janina Ochojska, President and Founder of the Polish 
Humanitarian Organization (PHO) 
 
Their "profiles" and response can be accessed on Embassy Warsaw's 
webpage at the following address: 
 
WARSAW 00001425  002 OF 002 
 
 
http://poland.usembassy.gov/embassy-events/ 
violence-against-women--- 
16-days-of-activism-against-gender-based-viol ence.html 
 
5. (SBU) Comment:  Violence against women is a serious problem in 
Poland and there are a number of NGOs who are actively engaged in 
the struggle to treat victims of violence and prevent further acts 
of violence against women. Some of the names of the organizations 
who participated in our campaign are very well-known in Poland. 
Nevertheless, there is currently not a unified approach or forum for 
addressing this issue among the diverse NGOs and government bodies. 
Most of the representatives who gathered at the DCM-hosted lunch did 
not know each other personally yet.  We forged a virtual community 
of activists through the 16 profiles, which was followed by the 
personal contact at the lunch.  We predict that this network 
development among the individuals and institutions will be the most 
long-lasting benefit of the campaign. 
 
6. (U) The issues that women in Poland are struggling against are 
not unique.  In order to have an even broader impact, Mission Poland 
recommends that IIP make the profiles available to other Eastern 
Partnership countries in their own languages.  These honest 
portraits from Poland may be an inspiration to activists and 
institutions in neighboring countries to face their own problem with 
violence against women with the same candor.  End Comment. 
 
ASHE