ENGAGEMENT ON WOMEN'S ISSUES - CZECH REPUBLIC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PRAGUE 000012 SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/PGI JIM KUYKENDALL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV EZ SUBJECT: ENGAGEMENT ON WOMEN'S ISSUES - CZECH REPUBLIC REF: STATE 124579 PRAGUE 00000012 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. Summary: Key women's issues in the Czech Republic include domestic violence, trafficking in persons, and limited representation in political life. Through regular reporting and programming, Post works closely with ministries and organizations that focus on these issues, striving to integrate women's issues into its broader agenda. Recent programs with a women's issues emphasis include a series of lectures by a female Google software engineer, arts programs, lectures on the history of feminism, and a new informal group that convenes extraordinary Czech and American women for speakers' events and networking. Embassy sections regularly nominate Czechs who focus on women's issues for the International Visitor Leadership Program, and the Public Affairs grant program recently awarded funds to an organization that works to increase the number of women in political life. Post would welcome additional resources to focus on programming, particularly given expected budget cuts that may impact the Czechs' ability to fund law enforcement and social programs. -------------- Key Issues -------------- ¶2. Embassy staff regularly meet with government officials and nongovernmental organizations to better understand women's issues. Although the situation of women in the Czech Republic is improving, challenges remain. Domestic violence is an ongoing problem in the Czech Republic. In 2009, police used their authority to remove 778 persons, both male and female, from their homes for an 10-day "cooling off" period due to domestic violence. During the first ten months of 2009, authorities completed 330 investigations into domestic violence. Although the country received good marks for its efforts to prosecute and prevent trafficking and protect victims, the Czech Republic remains a source, transit, and destination country for trafficked women. Women in the Czech Republic enjoy equal rights under the law, but relatively few hold political office. Women hold 17 percent of the seats in Parliament, for instance. Despite this, one positive sign is the role women play as active participants and leaders of nongovernmental organizations. -------------- Programs with a Women's Issues Theme -------------- ¶3. Post has been active in organizing events that empower women or allow advocates for women's issues to exchange views and share best practices. The Public Affairs Section (PAS) has worked with the NGO Gender Studies for many years. In October 2009, PAS, with support from Gender Studies, organized an APEX Leadership for Women (TM) workshop for Czech managers, entrepreneurs, and gender studies representatives. The leadership program, funded by PAS's small grants program, was led by Yvonne Davis, President and CEO of DAVISCommunications. ¶4. Slovak Petra Popluharova is the first female from the former Czechoslovakia to serve as a software engineer for Google. Post organized three lectures, two at universities in Brno and Ostrava and one at the American Center, where Popluharova encouraged women to work in the information technology (IT) industry. Few Czech women work in this industry (an estimated 13 percent of the industry is female, versus 20 percent in the United States). Popluharova's first exposure to the United States was through the Summer Work and Travel exchange program administered by the Department of State. Accompanying Popluharova at two of the lectures was Czech software developer Lara Aharkava, who recently interned in Google's Zurich office. ¶5. A visit to the Czech Republic by former Ambassador Swanee Hunt provided the impetus for two events: a lunch hosted by the Charge d'Affaires with female parliamentarians, and a roundtable on trafficking attended by government and NGO representatives. Ambassador Hunt's emphasis on the demand side of trafficking triggered a lively roundtable debate on how to best address trafficking problems in the country. ¶6. In Fall 2009, the American Center formed a small group of Czech and American female business professionals. Recent speakers at the group's events include Veronika Bednarova, a reporter who wrote a book, My American Beauty, about her experience as a Fulbright scholar in New York, and attorney Vladimira Papirnik, described by a Czech newspaper as one of the country's most respected businesswomen. The American Center plans to develop its external contacts through the PRAGUE 00000012 002.2 OF 002 approximately 50-member group, and also is pleased to provide space for influential women to interact and exchange ideas. -------------- Grants and Exchange Programs -------------- ¶7. Working with Gender Studies, PAS funded a series of four lectures on the history of American feminism through the small grants program. The small grants program also supported the Padesat Procent (Fifty Percent) organization, an NGO focused on equal representation of women and men in decision making and in public life. Padesat Procent is working to identify young female leaders by focusing on the regional level, but is also interested in promoting specific women to run for higher offices. ¶8. Targeting future leaders through exchange programs is an Embassy priority. International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) nominations each year include women who focus on issues important to women's rights. Post also supports events that draw upon the expertise of IVLP and Voluntary Visitor program veterans. For example, an Interior Ministry conference on reducing prostitution and sexual exploitation in Plzen in June 2009 featured several speakers who had participated in the IVLP program. Ivana Sabatova, board member of the South Bohemian Association for Women Managers and Entrepreneurs, regularly shares her IVLP experiences with female managers and entrepreneurs at conferences, seminars, panel discussions, and in news articles. Kristina Prunerova, who participated in the Voluntary Visitor program in 2006, won the State Alumni Member of the month in June 2008 for her active and influential role in advocating human rights and supporting democracy. This week, Post will nominate five women who work on domestic violence issues for the March 2010 Global Partnership to End Violence Against Women conference, sponsored by the Vital Voices Global Partnership and the Avon Foundation for Women. Participants must commit to follow-up networking activities upon their return to the Czech Republic. -------------- Best Practices and Plans for the Road Forward -------------- ¶9. Best practices identified by Post include: -- Ongoing reporting on issues of importance to women; -- Using the Embassy grants program to find innovative ways to fund projects that advance women's issues; -- Creative programming for visitors to the country, which broadens the base of potential topics and conserves funds; and -- Encouraging honorary awards and exchange program participation as a means of cultivating future leaders. ¶10. Post will continue to integrate women's issues into its reporting and programming. With additional resources, Post would give greater emphasis to women's political participation and events that empower and attract the next generation of female leaders. Along these lines, one step Post is taking within existing resources is revamping its annual human rights award. One goal of the revised award process is broadening the base of support for the award to attract younger activists, both female and male, who will play a greater role in Czech public life in the coming years. Lucas