07/03/2019
FSG
On Saturday, March 9, the "Violeta-Carme Chacón" Awards granted by the Socialist Youth will be presented. These awards have been held since 2009 to recognize the exemplary career of people or entities that have been relevant to the feminist movement, although last year it was approved to change the name of the Violeta awards and add the name of the recognized socialist who died in 2017 , Carme Chacón.
For this award in the category of Social Commitment, the Socialist Youths have positively evaluated the trajectory of more than 35 years of the Fundación Secretariado Gitano (FSG) working for equality in an integral way.
From our beginnings as an organization, the programs and actions we develop are aimed at reducing the inequality gap that affects Roma people and promoting equal opportunities to guarantee access to a decent life, especially in employment and education.
In this task, the promotion of Roma women has always been present, because we know that their starting point is different and that inequality and discrimination affect them doubly. That is why the gender perspective has always been fully incorporated into our programs, with the aim of guaranteeing equal opportunities between men and women. We work annually with more than 17,000 Roma girls and women, which is more than half of our program participants.
But the great social change that equality in the rights and opportunities of women implies, also for Roma, requires a broader strategy for the exercise of a full citizenship that includes specific actions that address the disadvantages in an integral way: in the Fundación Secretariado Gitano we work so that more Roma girls get to finish compulsory secondary education and continue in post-compulsory studies; so that Roma women improve their training and skills, also digital, and can access the labour market with decent jobs; We work to combat the multiple discrimination faced by Roma women, sensitizing and assisting victims; we work to break down the barriers associated with the gender roles that still persist and that limit the promotion of Roma women, conciliation and equal relationships; we promote the training and sensitization of both men and women on gender equality and fight against gender violence; and we generate spaces for social participation to favour the active citizenship of Roma women.
The advances are being visible, especially among the Roma youth, which is carrying out a genuine generational change. We have more and more in our teams and in our programs with young Roma, trained people, committed to the values of equality and respect for difference, and who, from an intercultural perspective, want to add, actively participate and contribute to a more just, equitable and cohesive society, where equality between men and women is real.
Therefore, those who will pick up the award on March 9 on behalf of the Fundación Secretariado Gitano will be two young Roma, Ana Segovia Montoya and José Antonio Plantón, showing the commitment of the FSG to youth and to equality as a shared value for men and women.
The Fundación Secretariado Gitano is grateful for this award, a recognition of our work as an organization, which reinforces our firm commitment to equality, always seeking the greatest possible impact within the Roma community and society.
