Region: Albania, Eastern Europe

Main Areas Of Interest: women's rights

Fellowship Period: May - July 2007

Keywords: gender-based violence, psychosocial support, public interest law

Biographical Profile:
Aurela Bozo is a lawyer who works for the Center for Legal Civic Initiatives in Tirana, Albania. The Center provides psycho-social support and free legal aid for poor and abused women and girls. It focuses on increasing access to the justice system by providing services and undertaking legal initiatives, preparation of studies, reports and analyses on the implementation of existing legislation and its relevance for women in Albania.

Aurela is very passionate about her women's rights work, which includes providing services and counseling to women and girls, as well as monitoring of existing legislation and advocacy on behalf of women and girls affected by violence and abuse.

During her fellowship, she focused on gaining access to women's rights organizations and shelters in the US in order to learn more about their work and methodology. She gained an understanding of how women affected by violence and abuse can access the US justice system and the support mechanisms that are in place for them. Aurela also met with NGOs, government agencies and other actors in the women's human rights field.