Drop-in Center
for Sex Workers and Trafficked Women and Girls




LOCATION  
Kopli 32, 10412 Tallinn

CO-OPERATION PARTNERS
Mama Cash Foundation (The Netherlands) - financial help; AIDS Prevention Center (GO) - methodological help; GENDERS center (Riga, Latvia) - methodological help, advisory services;

YEAR WHEN THE PROJECT WAS INITIATED AND ITS ESTIMATED TOTAL LENGTH
Project starts in September 2001 and estimated on length of 2002 year (first stage)

PROJECT SUMMARY
Through consultations and fieldwork with sex workers, and research of trafficking of women and girls we faced the immediate necessity to create premises for case management and urgent help for them. For that reason we plan to open drop-in center for sex workers and trafficked women.
We have two rooms for that purposes located on Kopli street 32, Tallinn. We want to make renovation of that rooms and WC/shower room, and to acquire necessary equipment and materials for drop-in activities, such as kitchen equipment, TV/video, computer, press, literature, furniture, condoms, lubricants etc. This center should be open 5-7 days in a week for four-six hours (with separate hours for trafficked women and for sex workers). For extraordinary situations we will provide temporary lodging for 1-2 persons.

ROLES AND DUTIES OF THE POSSIBLE PARTNERS
AIDS Prevention Center - methodological help, informational materials, database about prostitution, free of charge testing on HIV/Lues.
Mama Cash Foundation - partly financing; monitoring
GENDERS Center - methodological information, informational materials. Database about trafficking, advisory services (they have a long experience working with trafficked women and run the shelter for victims)

PROJECT INITIATOR:

AIDS-i Tugikeskus (AIDS Information and Support Center) is a social non-profit non-governmental (NGO) organization, which was founded 01.02.1994 by group of volunteers in Tallinn, Estonia. For the creating of structure we use the model of similar Finnish organization - AIDS Tukikeskus (Finnish AIDS Council) in Helsinki.
Everyday activities are running by the head of the AIDS Information & Support Center. More important decisions we are making on meetings of the board (3 persons), quarterly in year we organize meeting of all staff, part-time workers, consultants and volunteers. In decisions making we use the regulations of our NGO, which are confirmed by State Business Register.

In our team we have some full-time, some part-time workers and various number of volunteers. At the moment in different projects two medical nurses and the head of the center works full-time, four doctors and two social workers works part-time, we have part-time bookkeeper and some people, managing our household (the number of full-employed and part-employed workers, volunteers, depends from the number of projects, implemented on base of the center at the moment).
In different projects works nearly 20 volunteers; in case we need more volunteers, we have good collaboration with different organizations - students of Tallinn Pedagogical University, NGO “Living For Tomorrow”, Union of Estonian Volunteers.


PLANNERS
Jury Kalikov - project leader
Irina Mironova - project worker, medical nurse, outreach worker

NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED:

Renovation of the rooms, applying necessary equipment, opening the daily center and providing wide range of services for sex workers, trafficked women and possible victims of trafficking during 2002 year. In Estonia no one other governmental or non-governmental organization or institution provide such kind of services.

APPROACH

SELECTED APPROACH AND ITS JUSTIFICATION:

PHASING OF THE PROJECT:

January 2001-February 2002 - renovation of the rooms, applying and installation of necessary equipment
Beginning of March - opening daily drop-in center, advertising activities to the sex workers through contact persons and to trafficked women and possible victims through mass media.

Period March 2002-December 2002 - providing services on regular basis, implementation hot line, creating library and data base on prostitution and trafficking issues, find fundraising for future activities


BENEFICIARIES AND THEIR ROLE

BENEFICIARIES:

We work with sex workers and other vulnerable groups during 6 years. In period 1996-1999 our center workers provide services for 782 first visitors sex workers (hole number of visits more then 1300).
In period of 1999-2001 we work in ”Project against trafficking of women and girls in Baltic Sea region (with co-operation with Kvinnoforum, SWEDEN and now with Likestilling Senteret from Norway (1999- till the present moment); and Harm Reduction activities - one of them Harm Reduction project for Sex Workers Intravenous Drug Users (supported by Open Society Institute, New York).
So, the main beneficiaries are: sex workers, local and migratory; trafficked women and girls and possible victims of trafficking and finally all society.
 
THE ROLE AND PREPAREDNESS OF BENEFICIARIES:
It will be the place to provide peer-education activities, absolutely necessary is to involve women with experience of trafficking in activities of drop-in center. The atmosphere of trust and safety is already created by previous activities; our center is well known in sex workers area like a safe, anonymous and friendly place.

OBJECTIVES AND MONITORING

OBJECTIVES:

MONITORING:
For monitoring how necessary our drop-in center are and what concrete needs the women have, the questionnaire should be implemented. Dr Nelli Kalikova from AIDS Prevention Center and Dr Tatjana Kurova from GENDERS center from Riga should constantly supervise the project. Kvinnoforum from Sweden can coordinate activities with trafficked women. At the end of the year the statistic data about age, education, ways of involvement, sex work conditions (violence, sexual abuse questions), drug use, alcohol use, condom use, location, schemes of trafficking etc of the women in sex business should be collected and analyzed.

IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

RESULTS:

ACTIVITIES:

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