The project responds to the problem of discrimination against migrants and migrant women from the East. In Lower Silesia, before the outbreak of war in Ukraine, there were about 200,000 people from Ukraine and Belarus. Today the statistics are many times higher. This community experiences prejudice and discrimination based on origin in everyday life – including difficulties in dealing with institutions, abuse in the workplace (underpayment, lack of employment contracts), problems in the housing market (unwillingness of tenants), and hate attacks. The acquiescence to this type of behavior comes from the top, including from politicians who use anti-Ukrainian rhetoric. At the same time, the problem is virtually nonexistent in the public debate – it seems unimportant and completely unnoticed, especially in Lower Silesia.
As part of the project, the Project Promoter organized a journalism workshop for a group of 28 people from Belarus and Ukraine, who next – as part of a competition for journalistic material on migrant issues – reported on their experiences. Two anti-discrimination workshops were also held for some 34 people. Migrants were also able to receive individual counseling on discrimination or other issues related to their migration experience. The Project Promoter surveyed the community of Lower Silesian migrants and migrant women for the discrimination they experienced. The survey became the basis for advocacy efforts at the local level and for a media outreach campaign.
The project primarily benefited the community of migrant women and men from Ukraine and Belarus living in Wroclaw and Lower Silesia, including refugee women and political refugees from Belarus. Those who participated in the workshops improved their skills in recognizing and responding to discrimination, as well as their self-advocacy competencies, i.e. speaking about their experiences and needs in their own voice. The problem of discrimination against migrants and migrant women in Lower Silesia was publicized, and research at the local level showed the scale of the problem.
