Social Work with People Practicing Same-Sex ... - ILGA Europe

1 Materials from the Review of
international experience of drop-in
centres for the representatives of HIV
vulnerable populations”, Vladimir
Kiseliov, editor — Myroslava
Andrushchenko, International HIV/
AIDS Alliance in Ukraine (http://
www.aidsalliance.org.ua/ru/
news/pdf/info/Report%20on%20
Community%20Centers.pdf) were
used for this article.
58
and generalization of the acquired experience taking into account the national and
local characteristics, as well as the target group needs, achievements and difficulties.
The problems of community centres for HIV vulnerable groups in Ukraine are numerous
because the CC is still a rather new phenomenon in Ukraine which does not have the
well established theoretical and methodological background.
Key challenges of community centres are summed up in the
following items:
1. Problems with funding and premises, the lack of developed concepts for the local
fundraising and direct dependence on donor funding. It is impossible to ensure
efficient, long-term and sustainable work of the centre relying only on the donor
financing. The head of the centre should be a good manager and to search for all
opportunities for an additional funding.
2. The comprehensiveness of services and a balance between their components
(e.g., leisure activities as the means to attract clients should be supported by the
developed social, medical and prevention services).
3. Recruitment of the appropriate staff still remains one of the most serious challenges.
Often there are even no personnel selection criteria. The manager should not only
thoroughly select the employees, but also monitor their professional development
and further training. The requirements to the centre staff are rather strict:
tolerance, skills to provide diverse services — this means, that the employees
should virtually “live one life” with the community centre and its clients, which is
not possible in real life.
Support needed to the stable activities of the community centres in
Ukraine:
1. Existence of the stable premises for the centre's activities.
2. Decent remuneration to the counsellors and social workers.
3. Access to information.
4. Household appliances and utilities (a kettle, a wash-room, a shower, etc.).
5. Access to humanitarian aid.
Community centres play the key role in the process of organization and self-organization
of communities vulnerable to HIV. CC provide an opportunity to unite the group of
people with common interests and problems, desires and expectations, and the focus
on their needs and support by professional employees can become an impetus for the
clients to create new initiative groups and to demonstrate civil activism. Such centres
should receive a comprehensive support not only from donor organizations, but from
the government institutions, in particular, as it relates to the provision of permanent
premises, ensuring the viability of the centre and placement of social contracts (funded
from the state budget).
Review of International Experience 1
In many countries, institutionalized homophobia, religious prejudices and criminalization
of homosexual activity severely hinder the efforts to organize and implement work for
LGBT, MSM and WSW. According to amfAR (2008), in 86 countries consensual same-sex
sexual activity between men is a criminal offence. In 21 countries, male-male sex is
punishable by prison sentences of 10 years or more; in seven countries, it is punishable
by death.