Poradňa

Established in 2001, the Center for Civil and Human Rights (Poradňa) is a small NGO based in Košice, Eastern Slovakia – the country’s second largest city. Set up to protect the human rights of the Roma minority in Slovakia, particularly women and girls, Poradňa focuses on issues of discrimination, reproductive rights and police violence. It does this through the provision of legal advice and legal representation, strategic litigation, education, research and advocacy. Supporting Roma-led activism and advocacy is central to all of its work. An important element of Poradňa’s work has been advocacy on the issue of forced sterilisation of Roma women. Poradňa first documented cases of the illegal sterilisations of women and other violations of their human rights in 2003, identifying a number of cases of hospitals sterilising Roma women without their knowledge or consent during childbirth. Poradňa also monitors and advocates against other forms of discrimination and abuse against Roma women, including segregation in maternal healthcare and discrimination in education and the workplace.