2nd Year MHR Student Anna Rincon's Global Fight for Women
Master of Human Rights student, Anna Rincon, made substantial contributions to the global movement to end violence against women and girls through her summer internship with Global Rights for Women (GRW). Global Rights for Women is a Minneapolis-based NGO that is an international leader in ending violence against women and girls through legal and systems reform. Anna’s internship provided her with the opportunity to combine her passion for ending gender based violence with the skills and knowledge she has learned in the classroom.
As a legal intern for GRW, Anna was invited to attend a three-day regional conference in Bucharest, Romania; Making Laws Work to End Violence Against Women and Girls. This conference served as the focal point for Anna’s internship. In preparation for the conference, Anna, along with another intern, co-wrote reports on over twenty Eastern and Central European countries, highlighting their laws on violence against women and girls. To her surprise, her research revealed that some countries, such as Armenia and Estonia, have no domestic violence legislation at all. It was difficult for Anna to imagine what life is like for victims of domestic violence in those countries; enduring such violence is already grueling enough, let alone without any legal protection or recourse. With the information gathered from her research, Anna and the directors of GRW traveled to Romania for the conference, where Anna observed, took notes, and assisted the organizers.
At the conference, presenters discussed current trends and issues related to violence against women, as well as barriers encountered in the implementation of existing laws. Anna was able to meet an array of experts, ranging from members and directors of NGOs to parliamentarians and government officials from over twenty countries in Central and Eastern Europe, all of whom were dedicated to the eradication of violence against women and girls. The most interesting presentation Anna attended at the conference was that of Eleonora Pokola, a Romanian survivor of domestic violence. Pokola spoke about her recently-published book detailing her experiences of domestic violence and what it means to be a survivor. It was significant for Pokola to speak at the conference since very few women in Romania speak up about domestic violence. The bravery it took to speak in front of hundreds of conference participants was lost on no one. Other key conference attendees were Cindy Dyer, Rosa Logar, Ana Birchall, and Cheryl Thomas and Melissa Scaia from GRW.
The Director of International Training at GRW, Melissa Scaia, headed a series of presentations on Best Practices in Multi-sectoral Collaboration. The presentation addressed the implementation of laws on violence against women and girls. Scaia discussed the Duluth Model for addressing domestic violence, named after Duluth, Minnesota for their outstanding innovations to hold perpetrators accountable and keep victims safe. Scaia also led a panel with delegates from each representing country to discuss specific issues and obstacles to implementation of domestic violence laws in their countries.
As a Master of Human Rights student focusing on women’s rights, the conference reinforced Anna’s priorities and reaffirmed her career goals. She was excited to be part of a growing global movement to end violence against women and girls, while representing a leading organization, in the fight to end domestic violence. After the conference, Anna co-wrote a Post-Conference Report outlining the presentations, important quotes from the speakers, and an outcome statement which explained the importance and the innovations of this regional conference. To read Anna’s detailed Report, go here.
