Women's groups in CEE/FSU are increasingly recognizing the importance of coalition building. One of the recommendations included in the Proposed Standards for Not-for-Profit Organization in East-Central Europe, for example, is the adoption of long- and short-term programs that are coordinated, wherever possible, to the activities and programs of other NGOs. USAID reports, as well, that while competition within the NGO sector sometimes prevents coalition building, NGOs in many different countries in the region "have developed various mechanisms to join together for general coordination or to discuss common problems." NGOs in Moldova, Slovakia and Macedonia, for example, meet periodically to discuss and coordinate their approaches to problems that face the NGO sector as a whole. From USAID, 2002 NGO Sustainability Index for Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia 8 (2002).

Although there is no one formula for building partnerships with other groups, there are a few common avenues through which such partnerships develop. Often, partnerships are formed spontaneously through participation in common activities, such as conferences or exchanges. Other partnerships are cultivated for a specific reason—to supplement an organization's expertise, to apply for a particular grant, or to achieve a specific goal. Organizations that may have different mandates can form temporary coalitions to move forward on specific issues that are of common interest. Permanent coalitions, often between organizations with similar mandates, can be formed to provide these organizations with support and information or to work toward long-term systemic change. From R. Emerson Dobash & Russel P. Dobash, Women, Violence and Social Change 57 (1992).

For organizations working to end violence against women, building coalitions with groups working on minority rights is crucial. Although violence is a serious and significant problem for women of all backgrounds, women who are members of minority groups (whether a linguistic, cultural, ethnic, religious or other minority) are particularly vulnerable to certain forms of abuse and face unique problems in accessing services and gaining protection from violence. Violence against women cannot be addressed without simultaneously acknowledging the different ways in which women experience violence and recognizing the needs and concerns of women with different backgrounds.

Building effective coalitions with groups that are focused on the issues facing a minority group may require more awareness and sensitivity than is needed when partnering with organizations that have similar interests and backgrounds. Awareness, in this context, means understanding that another group may have different but equally valid priorities, and that that group may feel just as, if not more, besieged by the political environment. Awareness also means respect and cultural sensitivity—recognizing and being willing to work around cultural or linguistic differences.

A number of minority rights groups have published reports on violence against minority women—particularly Roma women—that may be useful resources for gaining an understanding of the issues facing minority women and in planning effective partnerships to combat violence against women. Minority Rights Group International (MRG), for example, has published a number of reports on the status of minorities in countries in CEE/FSU, including Minority Rights in Yugoslavia (2000); Roma/Gypsies: A European Minority (1995), and Anna Mateeva, The South Caucasus: Nationalism, Conflict and Minorities (2002). MRG also makes available its workshop reports, a number of which focus on CEE/FSU, as well as training manuals, training guides, and an outsider newsletter.

MRG has launched an international project to provide legal support to cases before international human rights courts or treaty-monitoring bodies. MRG has called on other NGOs that are involved in relevant issues to identify cases that have the potential for setting the strongest legal precedent for minority groups. Women's groups working on cases or complaints before such courts or treaty-monitoring bodies could find it useful to coordinate strategies with MRG.