Jone Sestakauskaite, student at the programme for European studies at Malmö University, has completed her Bachelor Thesis about the Girl Group activities at the center for women and children Nendre in Vilnius, Lithuania. The center was founded by the Åland Islands Peace Institute and the Women’s club Devyndarbe in 1998. Jone has investigated the effectiveness of the Girl Group method in terms of promoting gender equality and thus combating trafficking in human beings.
She concludes that the Girl Group method is a successful strategy, leading to fewer girls being lured into trafficking. Group meetings serve as an alternative education environment increasing awareness of the underlying causes of trafficking. The author also gives recommendations for improvement of future Girl Group work.
Her analysis is based on the interviews with Nendres personnel and Girl Group members as well as the project manager at the Åland Islands Peace Institute Justina Donielaite. Jone has also had a chance to take a closer look into the Girl Group work during her fieldwork at Nendre in April this year. The contacts to Nendre and the background information about the Girl Group method has been provided by the Åland Islands Peace Institute. A short summary of the findings of the Thesis can be downloaded here.