The President of “Voice of Romni,” Anzhelika Bielova, participated in the Expert Group Meeting “Integrating the Concept of Human Security and an Intersectional Lens into the Triple Nexus” in Warsaw, organized by UN Women.

The event brought together representatives of women’s organizations, human rights defenders, experts from government institutions in Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, and Romania, as well as representatives from various UN agencies.

The discussions focused on identifying priority areas for addressing challenges and gaps in peace, security, and humanitarian aid policies, particularly in the context of displacement crises caused by the war in Ukraine, and how these issues affect women.

Anzhelika Bielova shared key findings from the comprehensive research conducted by “Voice of Romni,” emphasizing the major challenges faced by the Roma community during the war in Ukraine: employment, fair wages, safety, access to education, and humanitarian aid.

She also stated: “Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has caused a humanitarian catastrophe and increased the vulnerability of the Roma community. Women face systemic gender-based discrimination, as evidenced by the research findings of ‘Voice of Romni,’ where nearly 70% of respondents reported experiencing gender-based violence.”

In addition, she shared her experience in founding the organization, highlighting that it was the support of women that enabled her to create “Voice of Romni” and build effective operations: “Women should support one another, as the help of other women enabled me to become more visible, stronger, and capable of helping other women.”

Such meetings serve as an important reminder that only through collective effort can we create opportunities to overcome crises and amplify women’s voices during these challenging times. This is why we remain committed to working on integrating Roma women into recovery and development processes.