Business is ready to provide women and girls with a safe space from street harassment

Tashkent, March 4, 2022. Street harassment – a type of harassment that consists of unwanted sexual comments, provocative gestures, whistling, harassment, constant sexual harassment and touching by strangers in public places such as streets, malls and public transport.  It is a global phenomenon that affects women all over the world.  In some countries, such as France, the Netherlands, the Philippines, and Tajikistan, this behavior is prohibited by law.  In many other countries, there are public initiatives that create informal protection mechanisms, mainly within the framework of social responsibility.  Often in cases of street harassment, a temporary shelter can solve the problem, allowing you to wait out or call a fellow traveler for further travel.

The United Nations Development Program in Uzbekistan has approached a number of private sector representatives to form a voluntary alliance based on corporate social responsibility to launch a pilot initiative called “Call Umida”, which will be an informal mechanism that will allow women and young girls to find a temporary space protected from harassment, harassment and harassment on our streets.  The location of safe places and more information about the initiative can be found on the website callumida.uz, which was developed with the support of IT Park.

IT Park is the technical and info-partner of this initiative.

  “The initiative we are launching today is unique in the country and is especially important because it is a voluntary commitment by a number of representatives of the corporate sector who, as part of their citizenship, social responsibility and empathy, express their willingness to share their resources in order to contribute to the creation of a network  safe spaces for women and girls fleeing street harassment,” – said Matilda Dimovska, UNDP Resident Representative in Uzbekistan, in her speech.  – Since we are launching this initiative a few days before International Women's Day, and this year's theme – “Gender Equality Today for a Sustainable Future, sustainable and equitable development is only possible when everyone is included and no one is left behind.  Only in a secure environment can a person realize their full potential in education, employment, access to healthcare, or any other basic human need.  We need streets that are safe for both girls and women.”

Heads of the country's largest retail chain “Korzinka.uz”, restaurant chains “Testo by Zamira & Co.”, “YaponaMama”, “Caravan Group”, co-working centers Steam Bar, Turka Saray, “GroundZero”, computer club “CyberArena”, Asklepiy Group pharmacy chain, TEAMS University, IT Park declared their readiness to invest their time and efforts in support of the pilot initiative.  The  portal NeMolchi.uz acts as an information partner of the project.  The initiative is launching today and will gradually expand over the course of the month.

“As a socially responsible company, we stand against street harassment and join the  initiative “Call Umida”.  We deploy our team at all of our supermarkets across Uzbekistan to provide safe spaces for women and girls when needed.  In partnership with UNDP, we believe cities can be safer for women and are committed to raising public awareness to stop street harassment,” – commented Zafar Khashimov, CEO of the supermarket chain “Korzinka”.

 

Other companies wishing to join the pilot initiative “Call Umida” and expand the network of safe spaces can express their interest by sending a message by clicking the button «Связаться c нами» on the website.

 This pilot initiative is being implemented as part of the UNDP Uzbekistan Accelerator Lab, which is part of the world's largest and fastest sustainable development learning network. The UNDP Accelerator Lab works with national and global partners to find new approaches and solutions to current development challenges through an accelerated learning process that relies on reflection, collective intelligence, solutions and experimentation.

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Legal Warning: The pilot initiative “Call Umida” does not replace or provide law enforcement, legal, psychological, moral, material assistance that may be required in individual cases.  For additional protection or support, you should contact the authorized and specialized bodies.  The timing and type of temporary protection is determined by the operational and other restrictions of each partner and is subject to change.  In case of suspicion of illegal actions, partners have the right to act within the law and apply to the competent authorities.