Shelters and care centers for victims of violence may submit proposals to compete for state funds

The call is open for non-profit social organizations to participate in the selection and signing of agreements with the State, which allows them to receive public financial resources for the period from April 1 to December 31, 2022.

Proposals must be delivered until February 21. And the results of the selected ones will be known on March 22nd.

Once the social organization is selected, it will have until March 31, 2022 to present all the enabling documents for this process carried out by the Human Rights Secretariat, the entity in charge of the eradication of violence against women, children and adolescents. , and that it should also manage the provision of comprehensive protection services for victims of gender violence in Ecuador.

In cases of gender or domestic violence, victims can go immediately to the so-called comprehensive care centers (where legal advice, psychological assistance, among others) are also given. There are also shelters, which receive and house women and their children who have fled their aggressors and who need protection. In the case of those that have agreements with the State, care is free.

Last December, activists and representatives of shelters expressed their concern because 2021 was about to end and allegedly the State had not allocated the corresponding funds for these sites to provide comprehensive care to victims of violence.

Experience of at least five years, one of the reforms in the draft of the new regulation for shelters and care centers for victims of violence in Ecuador

However, and after the complaints that also went viral on social networks, on the afternoon of December 28, the Human Rights Secretariat published, in a statement, that all the values ​​of 2021 had been canceled until that date to the attention centers. and shelters that had an agreement signed with the entity.

On January 3, 2022, on the other hand, the Human Rights Secretariat stated that they had indicated, verbally and in writing, to the organizations with which they had an agreement that they had the budget for the transfer of economic resources for January, February and March 2022.

And at the same time they announced that the secretariat was going to hold an open call for all comprehensive care centers and shelters in the country to present their proposals to participate in the new agreements that would be made and that would cover from April to December 2022.

One of the novelties were the reforms or new regulations and care model that they must comply organizations iinterested in applying to this process.

The draft of this regulation was published on January 11, 2022 on the website of the Human Rights Secretariat (www.derechoshumanos.gob.ec), a page on which the final document is already updated.

Minimum requirements to apply

Among the six minimum requirements that participating organizations must have are the experience of at least five years in “issues of gender-based violence against women”, as well as five years of “general experience in social development projects”.

Also, comprehensive care centers and shelters must present a technical team that will be made up of at least one administrator, a lawyer, a psychologist and a social worker. Later, and after requests and questions from activists, a care manager (facilitator) was added to the shelters.

Sentences for femicides, even 40 years, are not enough if investment is not made in prevention and protection and rehabilitation systems, say activists

In addition, there are issues and requirements in terms of infrastructure, services, profiles of professionals in care centers and shelters, which are stipulated in the so-called Regulation for the selection procedure, subscription and execution of technical-financial cooperation agreements with non-profit social organizations to strengthen comprehensive care for victims of gender violence in Ecuador.

The final regulation was issued and entered into force on January 29, 2022, after the days of dissemination and dialogue between social organizations and the Human Rights Secretariat, according to the latter entity.

State budgets for shelters and care centers

The State’s economic resources for agreements with comprehensive care centers and shelters are $2.17 million from January to December 2022, publishes the Human Rights Secretariat.

“Throughout the month of January, we worked jointly with more than 30 social organizations to have agile and dynamic processes for the signing of agreements and efficient use of resources in which the care model worked by the shelters and shelters remains in force. the centers, with the advice of the German Cooperation GIZ”, is exposed in the news about the launch of the call for this process of application, selection and subscription of the new agreements, which is on the website of the secretariat.

There it is indicated that among the improvements that were included in the final regulation there is an increase in the food budget, which went from $22,500 to $25,000. There is also an increase in personal self-care and biosecurity items due to the pandemic, which went from $5,000 to $5,500. In addition, salaries were equated to the maximum amount for the administrator, lawyer, psychologist, social worker and care manager or facilitator.

The shelters and care centers must consider, in their proposal, a weighted amount for the nine months that the agreement will last (from April to December 2022), this, because the regulation contemplates maximum annual amounts for the items financed by the Secretary of Human Rights, it is emphasized.

Call dates and process

There are deadlines or dates established for each phase of the process. Thus, the call, for example, will be open until February 21.

And the deliveries or reception of the physical proposals will be from this Tuesday, February 8, until 11:59 p.m. on February 21, at the Human Rights Secretariat.

The offices or facilities of the entity are in Quito, on General Robles E3-33 streets between Ulpiano Páez and 9 de Octubre. The physical proposals must be accompanied by a magnetic backup (CD or USB memory), it is specified in the document of the resolution of the call that has the requirements, deadlines and other details.

At link www.derechoshumanos.gob.ec/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/CONVOCATORIA-REV1-1.pdf are the requirements and all the data of the call.

From this Friday, February 4 to 7, the process is in the period for issuing responses and clarifications by the Human Rights Secretariat, to the questions that have been raised from February 1 to 3.

Finally, for the signing of the agreements (once all the phases have been successfully completed), an estimated date has been established between March 29 and 31, 2022. (I)