Asociația pentru Libertate și Egalitate de Gen (The Association for Freedom and Gender Equality A.L.E.G.) is a non-governmental organisation active since 2004 in promoting gender equality and preventing violence against women, with the mission of helping people live free from abuse and violence.
A.L.E.G. offers free counselling and psychological support to women facing domestic violence and to their children. Through the program #ȘiEuReușesc (literally “I Also Succeed”), it encourages women who have managed to overcome domestic violence to become positive role models for those still in abusive situations and encourages the creation of support communities. The association also engages in awareness-raising on gender-based violence, as well as advocacy and lobbying at national and international levels.
We thank the representatives of A.L.E.G. for this dialogue on art and activism: Camelia Proca (founder, director), Eniko Gall (psychologist, counselling centre coordinator), and Teodora Curechian (PR assistant).
Dan Perjovschi was the first major male artist who came to us on his own initiative to support activism for women’s rights. This meant a great deal. He has collaborated with us throughout many editions of the Gender Equality Festival, our annual campaign to prevent gender-based violence, aimed at young people. We have always worked collaboratively, in the sense that our young participants would propose messages, and he would help them become even more creative.
These messages promoting the values of freedom and gender equality would reach the wall drawn by Dan, next to the Radu Stanca Theatre, at The Horizontal Newspaper. In this way, they entered the community. Over time, Dan created a dedicated section for us on the wall, so our messages could remain there.
Dan also held workshops with us, with our team and volunteers, to strengthen the impact of the messages we formulated. Over time, the A.L.E.G. section has hosted everything, from messages about the case of Alexandra – who called 112 and was told not to block the line – to messages such as “gender is not the bogeyman you fear” during the family referendum, or messages connected to Who helped me escape violence, meaning the stories of survivors who spoke about solutions. More recently, messages about cyber violence and the new realities young people face.
Whenever serious cases occurred in Romania, Dan wrote messages about femicide and the intervention of the authorities, taking on that role. We need such people who support us consistently and carry our message further.
One of A.L.E.G.’s largest projects is the #ȘiEuReușesc ( literally “I Also Succeed”), which empowers women who have left violent situations and supports all those who face or have faced abusive dynamics.
The idea for the project came from seeing, both in broader contexts and in the media, how victims of violence were portrayed only through the lens of what they lacked: Why don’t they leave? – that was always the question. Extreme cases of violence were shown, but success stories of women leaving abusive environments were rarely presented. We wanted to show other facets of the issue, so we involved women from our network who had been through violence and overcome it – they brought courage and inspiration to others. We felt the need to reclaim the Romanian word învingătoare (meaning ‘victor’ or ‘woman who has overcome’), using it to celebrate women who have moved beyond the label of victim, victorious in relation to their own fears. We have been collecting their stories since 2017. You can read them online, and some were also represented on Dan Perjovschi’s wall, reaching directly into the Sibiu community.
Dan created the first visual for our public call for positive stories, and later he also designed the logo of the programme, a logo that became well-known and now travels with us, on brochures, bags, and T-shirts.
We believe it is very important to strengthen and intertwine activism and art. On the one hand, activist messages can sometimes be harder for the public to process, but art can offer expressive tools that connect more directly with diverse sensibilities.
On the other hand, violence is also present in the cultural world. We need anti-violence activism within culture as well, to support women artists, men artists, and volunteers. There are situations we may not identify correctly, or where victims do not receive support. This is why we strongly believe in a multidisciplinary approach and in the intersection of working methods.
We do not believe that art and feminism should run on parallel tracks. For social change, we need encounters and dialogue.
RESOURCES
We provide psychological counselling services for victims of domestic violence – women and child witnesses – to help them regain control of their lives. We also offer information services online, by phone, by email, or face-to-face, under the guidance of a psychologist. Contact us for details at +40 753 893 531, Monday to Friday, 10:00-17:00, or by email at contact@aleg-romania.eu.
If you believe you are in a relationship that may endanger your life, call the emergency number 112 or 0800 500 333 – the national toll-free, 24/7 hotline managed by ANES.
