CLECE ANNOUNCES COMMITMENT TO EMPLOY 139 VICTIMS OF GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE AT THE III COMPROMISO AWARDS
- Clece has committed to integrate 139 victims of gender-based violence within its workforce, equivalent to the number of projects presented for the Best Social Project.
- The Deméter por la Igualdad Association, the ARED Foundation, and the Novafeina Foundation were winners of the Best Social Project in the fight against gender-based violence category.
- The Jury’s Special Award to the most prominent Personality in this fight was presented to Spanish MP Carmen Quintanilla Barba.
- Arturo Checa of Las Provincias, and Chelo Tuya of El Comercio won, ex-aequo, the award for Best Journalism.
- The Jury gave a special mention to film maker Icíar Bollaín and also the Society Section of the EFE Agency.
Yesterday, Clece Social, Clece’s social project, held the third edition of its Compromiso Awards, an event that focused on recognising the commitment of entities, communication media and personalities in the fight against gender based violence.
In the category Best Social Project by not-for-profit entities relating to women who are victims of gender-based violence, awards were given to the Deméter por la Igualdad Association, the ARED Foundation and the Nova Feina Foundation. Each will receive a prize of 10,000 Euros. In the Best Journalism category, the journalists Arturo Checa of Las Provincias, and Chelo Tuya of El Comercio won, ex aequo, an award of 7,000 Euros. In addition, the Jury gave a special mention to the EFE Agency Society Section for its involvement and journalistic work.
The Jury’s Special Award to the most prominent personality in the fight against gender-based violence was given to Spanish MP Carmen Quintanilla Barba as recognition of her outstanding work in support of women victims. The Jury also gave a special mention to film maker Icíar Bollaín for the important role cinema plays as a vehicle for portraying the social problem of gender-based violence, and in awareness raising.
The film maker, script writer, and President of the Jury, Luis Lorente, congratulated the award winners and emphasised the value of Clece’s integration work, commenting that it “does it with commitment, resources, and another essential element: the heart”. He emphasised that a job “is a link, an essential step in constructing the staircase that leads women out of the basement of abuse”.
Giving Victims a Voice
José Andrés Elizaga, Clece’s Director of Communications commented “Unlike previous editions, this time we wanted to dedicate the Compromiso Awards to everyone involved in the daily fight against gender-based violence. And above all, to the victims themselves. We felt that it was the right time to make this gesture and to reinforce our involvement with these women, who need a way out, a chance to create another life for themselves, and to be happy again. We have come a long way, but the reality remains worrying and there is much to do. Our purpose is therefore to contribute to this fight, which is a fight for all of us. What we do best is help with workplace integration as well as raising awareness through initiatives such as these awards”.
The gala, which took place at Los Teatros del Canal in Madrid, was hosted by the journalist Sandra Cope and focused throughout on real support and closeness to victims. Three Clece workers, ex-victims of gender-based violence, were responsible for delivering the awards in the Best Social Project category. The personal testimonies and histories from women victims provided some of the most emotional moments during the gala. The event also staged a choreographed scene from the film “Rotas”, directed by Luis Lorente in collaboration with the Ana Bella Foundation. Symbolising the fragility and also the strength of the women, hundreds of paper butterflies, created by the victims of gender-based violence at the refuges managed by Clece in Valencia were released in the auditorium.
Five Award Winners and Two Special Mentions
The jury, consisting of personalities from the institutional world and those from civil society, chose the winners after evaluating 150 submissions, They selected six finalists in the Best Social Project category and three in the Best Journalism category. The winners of the Best Social Project category were:
- The Deméter por la Igualdad Association of Malaga, for their project “Care and Comprehensive Action for the Children of Women who are Victims of Gender-Based Violence”. The program seeks to empower these mothers as educators and to alleviate the consequences of the mothers’ and children’ exposure to gender-based violence. An average of 240 users attend the program each year.
- The ARED Foundation of Barcelona, for its re-insertion program “Social and Workplace Integration of Women who are Victims of Gender-Based Violence”. The program seeks to improve the personal, professional and financial autonomy of women on the program and to achieve their integration into the workplace. There are 25 direct beneficiaries of the program whose circumstances mean they suffer poverty and social exclusion.
- The Nova Feina Foundation of Valencia, for its project “Dona Impuls”. This aims to improve the employability of victims through social and employment guidance, support and a helping hand through an active job search process. The program has benefitted 15 people over 18 years of age and puts a special focus on women over the age of 45, where age is a significant barrier to accessing the employment market.
The winners in the Best Journalism category were:
Chelo Tuya, a journalist with El Comercio. The award was for articles produced during the special #cuestiondetod@s week run by the Asturian daily paper and published to mark International Day for the Elimination of Gender-Based Violence Against Women in 2016.
Arturo Checa, a journalist with Las Provincias, for three articles published in the Valencian newspaper: “Abuse starts with the young”, “Enemy Father” and “Mistakes Made Following Abuse”
There was also special mention in this category for the Society Section of the EFE International News Agency for its team work and personal commitment to awareness raising about gender-based violence. Throughout last year, the Society Section disseminated around 900 reports reflecting the scope of the problem from all perspectives and demonstrating its rigorous and high standards of journalism in the process.
Award for Constant Effort
Finally, the Jury made a special award to the most notable Personality in the fight against gender-based violence. This was awarded to Spanish MP Carmen Quintanilla Barba for her wealth of experience and great commitment to victims of gender-based violence and to social issues. Her constant and tireless efforts against gender-based violence have been recognised on many occasions. Amongst others, with an Award from the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality in 2014 and through the Menina Award of the Andalusian Regional Government in 2014.
The jury also gave a special mention to film maker Icíar Bollaín, who represents the potential of culture and cinema in making social problems visible and generating debate about issues such as gender-based violence.
Under its President Luis Lorente, a film director, script writer and director of the film “Rotas, the jury consisted of María José Ordoñez, Government Representative for Gender-Based Violence; Lucía del Carmen Cerón, Director of the Institute for Women and Equal Opportunities; Ángeles Carmona, President of the Observatory on domestic and gender-based violence; Marta Ariño, CEO of G+J España; Fernando Grande-Marlaska, Judge; Gemma Nierga¸ Journalist, and Cristóbal Valderas, Clece’s President.
The Fruits of Commitment
Women who are victims of gender-based violence are a focus for the Clece social project, Clece Social. It is especially sensitive to this collective. In addition to managing refuges for the women on behalf of public authorities, Clece develops awareness raising initiatives that deal with the problems suffered by this collective, such as the Integration Forums organised by different Autonomous Communities. It also runs campaigns for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and is involved in significant institutional projects such as “There is a Way Out”.
The company also works hard to achieve the workplace integration of people from this collective. Currently, more than 180 women who have suffered male violence form an active part of the Clece workforce. Following Edition III of the Compromiso Awards, this number will increase significantly as the company has committed to integrate one women who is a victim of gender-based violence for every project presented by not-for-profit entities in the Best Social Project category, which means 139 will be hired.
Clece’s work to support and integrate victims of gender-based violence was recognised by the Spanish Prime Minister in 2016. It was also the only company invited by the UN to present its model for the social and workplace integration of women who are the victims of gender-based violence.