Via della Lungara 19
00165 Rome
Italie
- Gender
- Human rights
- Research
BeFree’s objectives are the promotion and protection of women’s human rights, as well as the empowerment of both victims and protection actors through the provision of front-line services, research, advocacy and education. The cooperative aims at ensuring that gender rights are mainstreamed in policies and actions. BeFree works to change social perceptions of gender roles and dynamics in order to promote a culture of respect for diversity. It strives to promote protection for victims of human trafficking and ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice. To these ends, the cooperative regularly provides training courses to partners in government, educational institutions, civil society and the media.
BeFree runs four shelters in Central Italy: three for victims of violence against women and the fourth for victims of trafficking. It runs two help desks. The first (and only example in Italy) provides 24/7 counselling to victims of violence and is located within the emergency room of the hospital San Camillo Forlanini in Rome. The second is located within the Center of Identification and Expulsion of Rome where irregular migrants are detained. The cooperative's legal team assists victims and litigates cases on their behalf. BeFree promotes advocacy campaigns either on its own or in partnership with other organizations in civil society. It conducts research on the themes of its mandate and promotes recommendations stemming from this research with the government and international organizations (the UN, EU, Council of Europe, Organisations for Security Cooperation in Europe). It holds regular training courses for social operators, law enforcers, health specialists, academia, and other individuals from concerned civil society. It promotes gendere studies and culture through an annual summer school. It is regularly consulted by government institutions on the themes of violence against women, human trafficking and discrimination.
BeFree can provide information and advocacy on the network's themes. It can facilitate contacts between network members and Italian partners. It can host events (conferences/lectures/ meetings) at the International House of Women in Rome --where BeFree is headquartered.
Since 2013, BeFree has developed an international projects capacity. As a result, its international outreach has increased. However, the cooperative would like to extend its network beyond its traditional partners and interlocutors and liaise with like-minded organizations and networks.