The opening of the “Directora Olga Carrión” Women’s Centre in Seville underlines the importance of having inclusive spaces for Rromani women
The creation of new resources for women is always welcome news. However, beyond the opening of a facility or the launch of a service, it is worth asking who uses these spaces, who feels represented, and what barriers women who have historically faced greater difficulties in accessing them continue to encounter.
In the case of Rromani women, these questions remain relevant.
Despite the social progress made in recent decades, many Rromani women continue to face inequality stemming from antigypsyism prejudice, a specific form of racism that continues to limit opportunities in key areas such as employment, education, housing, health and social participation.
These barriers are not specific to individual circumstances. They are the result of structural inequalities that continue to restrict the full exercise of rights and which, in many cases, remain invisible in forums for participation and in public policy.
Spaces that recognise the reality of Romani women
Equality cannot be built on the basis of a single reality. Women have different experiences, life paths and needs, and the resources allocated to promoting their rights must be capable of recognising that diversity.
For this reason, spaces such as the Casa de la Mujer take on particular significance when they are able to foster genuine participation, listen to the voices of Romani women and become places where all women can feel represented and welcomed.
It is not just about opening doors. It is about ensuring that all women can walk through them on an equal footing.
ADEME: supporting, mediating and defending rights
Through ADEME, the Support, Detection and Mediation service we run at La Fragua Projects, we work every day alongside Romani women to facilitate access to their rights, support their participation in decision-making processes and offer assistance in situations of discrimination or exclusion.
Our experience shows that empowerment does not stem solely from the availability of resources. It also requires safe spaces where women can share experiences, strengthen their autonomy, build support networks and play an active part in decisions that affect their lives.
Séfora Vargas Martín, a legal adviser at ADEME, plays a key role in this work, supporting Romani women in defending their rights, providing legal guidance and facilitating access to resources and opportunities. Her day-to-day work helps to identify instances of discrimination, offer specialised support and strengthen processes aimed at fostering autonomy and participation.
The event took place at the Casa de la Mujer in Seville, a venue for dialogue, participation and the strengthening of networks amongst women, equality officers and professionals working in the field of women’s issues.
An opportunity to keep moving forward
The creation of new spaces dedicated to women should also serve to reinforce our commitment to those who continue to face greater obstacles in exercising their rights.
Roma women are part of the diversity of our society and play a vital role within their families, communities and the wider society. However, they continue to face barriers that limit their presence in many public and decision-making spheres.
For this reason, at La Fragua Projects we believe it is essential that any initiative aimed at promoting equality incorporates an anti-racist perspective and takes into account the specific circumstances of Romani women.
Because equality will only be a reality when all women have access to the same rights, opportunities and spaces for participation. And because Romani women must not only be present in these spaces: they must be heard, recognised and play a leading role in the changes that affect their lives and their communities.
Source: La Fragua Projects. Images: La Fragua Projects
Technology has transformed the way people communicate and relate to each other, but it has also opened new avenues for sexual exploitation and trafficking. With the aim of making this reality visible and promoting a critical perspective on how these forms of violence operate in digital environments, the Seville City Council has launched the campaign “Misma violencia, distinta interfaz”.
The initiative is part of the program organized for the International Day against Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking in Persons and focuses on a reality that, although it adopts new tools and scenarios, continues to be based on the same inequalities, discrimination and violations of rights.
Representing La Fragua Projects was Séfora Vargas Martín, legal technician of the Attention, Detection and Mediation (ADEME) project, sharing this meeting space with social entities, institutions and professionals committed to the prevention of sexual exploitation and the defense of human rights.
Looking beyond the screens
Mobile apps, social media, and digital platforms are part of the daily lives of millions of people. However, they have also become tools used to recruit, control, and exploit vulnerable individuals.
With the slogan "Misma violencia, distinta interfaz," the campaign invites reflection on how trafficking and sexual exploitation have found new ways to operate in the digital sphere, without diminishing the impact of the violence they generate or the human rights violations that sustain them. The initiative seeks to raise public awareness and reinforce the need for coordinated responses focused on prevention, protection, and the guarantee of rights.
Activities to raise awareness and generate consciousness
Among the planned actions, “Neones Sinceros” stands out, an intervention developed together with Médicos del Mundo that will travel through different spaces in Seville to make visible situations of sexual exploitation and violation of rights that continue to affect numerous women.
The program also includes the day “Beyond the screen: preventive keys against pornography and sexual exploitation”, aimed at professionals in the educational, social and health fields, as well as anyone interested in delving deeper into the prevention of these forms of violence from a rights perspective.
The AMIGA Association is also organizing a photographic exhibition at the Women's Center in Seville, featuring stories of survivors of prostitution and trafficking. The exhibition focuses on their processes of resistance and recovery, while also highlighting the importance of strengthening resources for protection, support, and reparation.
Strengthening networking to defend human rights
Participation in this meeting allowed La Fragua Projects to create new collaborative spaces with organizations working to defend women's rights and support survivors of trafficking and sexual exploitation. These spaces for exchange and coordination help strengthen networking, a key tool for building collective responses to the multiple forms of violence and exclusion that continue to affect women and girls.
Representatives of social entities, institutions and professionals during the presentation of the campaign "Misma violencia, distinta interfaz".
This participation is directly connected to the work carried out by ADEME, a project that supports vulnerable Roma people through direct care, needs assessment and mediation, facilitating their access to rights, resources and public services.
The campaign “Misma violencia, distinta interfaz” reminds us that sexual exploitation and trafficking persist, even as the channels and spaces where they occur change. Therefore, social awareness, prevention, and collaboration between government agencies, social organizations, and professionals remain fundamental tools for moving towards a more just society, free from violence and committed to human rights.
A pioneering model that anticipates judicial reform and offers effective solutions to structural discrimination through intercultural mediation and strategic litigation
The ADEME 2025 report, initiated by La Fragua Projects and funded by Seville City Council, establishes a pioneering model for support, identification and socio-legal mediation for the Roma community in situations of severe exclusion. This initiative anticipates the reform of the Law on Procedural Efficiency, integrating Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanisms (ADRM) with an intercultural and restorative justice approach.
The findings are damning: structural anti-Roma sentiment persists, manifesting itself in administrative inaction, intersectional discrimination and the violation of fundamental rights. Documented cases include chronic failure to comply with court orders regarding disability, vicarious violence and medical negligence that has resulted in life-threatening situations. ADEME 2025 has handled over 20 highly complex cases and 200 proceedings per month, combining mediation, strategic litigation and innovative protocols to ensure effective judicial protection.
The report proposes measures with the force of law, such as the establishment of the role of a Romani socio-legal mediator, the replacement of the ineffective Andalusian Protocol against Anti-Gypsyism with a binding regional law, and the implementation of compulsory anti-racism training for all public sector staff. These recommendations aim to transform political will into a legal obligation, ensuring that substantive equality becomes a reality rather than a mere promise.
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