ROSA provides psychological and social counseling, legal consultations and psychological help to these women, as well as supporting them in their difficult situation. It also runs a crisis line for women-survivors of domestic violence (from 1999 through to 2003 nearly 5000 women called the line) and in case of extreme need, it provides them with the possibility to stay in its asylum house or asylum flats with a secret address.

Besides the direct support, ROSA is active in the prevention of domestic violence. It organizes training, seminars and conferences on domestic violence aimed at the wider public, students, health or social care providers, policemen etc. It also co-operates closely with other NGO’s (from the Czech Republic and abroad) and state institutions on the prevention of domestic violence. ROSA is also member of WAVE network - Women against Violence Europe.

ROSA also publishes books on the issue (e.g. “I’ve Survived… Testimonies of Battered Women” or “Today I Won’t Kill You Yet”) as well as training material for professionals (including training material for policemen and social workers).

From its foundation in 1993, ROSA informs the media on the issue. In 2003, it became a co-ordinator of a Campaign against Domestic Violence against Women, organized under the support of Open Society Foundation Prague by 10 Czech NGO’s from different regions of the Czech Republic. The campaign consisted of strong public relations and an advertising campaign (TV spots, print advertisements, posters, and stickers), this was combined with direct actions to the public, including a documentary movie on domestic violence. The campaign continues in 2004, where a new documentary on children, the innocent witnesses of domestic violence, is currently being prepared. More information about the campaign is to be found on www.stopnasili.cz.

 Dr. Branislava Vargová of ROSA–Center for Battered Women will take the leading role in managing the STOPVAW country page for the Czech Republic. For ROSA, Branislava has worked as a psychologist, women’s rights advocate, project manager, and a fundraiser. Branislava wrote her doctorate thesis on “Violence against Women in Partner Relationships: the Impact on Duration of Relationship and its Consequences on Experience of Children,” for Charles University in Prague. She has attended many trainings in the European area including a DAPHNE project training and a seminar entitled Police Training Modules on “Domestic Violence”, “Rape and Sexual Assault” and “Rape and Sexual Abuse of Children.”


 ROSA Profile