Folie 1COOPERATION
Malta, 20th November 2009
WAVE is …
•an informal network of European women’s NGOs working in the field of combating violence against women and their children
•was founded in 1994 - inspired by the Vienna Declaration and the World Conference on Human Rights (1993).
•responsible body: Austrian Women’s Shelter
• Network (AÖF) in Vienna
WAVE is one part of AÖF
WAVE aims… • at the goals of the United Nations, stressing the importance of working towards ending all forms of violence against women and children in public and private life in accordance with •Vienna Declaration on Violence against Women, •CEDAW declaration, Recommendation 19 and Optional Protocol •Beijing Platform for Action and all other related documents •Council of Europe Recommendations 2002(5) •Women's Rights are Human Rights
WAVE structure is formed … •by about almost 100 Focal Points in 47 European countries at the
regional and national level.
• The WAVE network comprises approximately 4000 women's organisations for combating violence against women and children in Europe: shelters, helplines, counselling centres, intervention centres
WAVE Focal Points are …
• primary source of information
by
•supporting the institutional development
•of the sector as a whole, through a multi- stakeholder approach
WAVE activities … • Lobbying: Support for partner NGOs, Awareness raising campaigns, monitoring, quality standards control, etc. • WAVE – annual conferences • WAVE - Training Seminars for
various professional groups: social workers, police, health and justice system, media
• WAVE - Newsletter - (monthly)
• WAVE - Fempower - (biannual )
• WAVE - Country Report - (annual) • Study Visits to Austria • International Cases of DV: Victim support
WAVE
CONTRY REPORT OUTCOME 2008
• According to Recommendation of the EU- Parliament, there should be one shelter place for 10.000 inhabitants. CoE recommends one place per 7.500 inhabitants.
• In Europe WAVE countet 2.060 women‘s shelters, providing approx. 20.000 places. Yet there should be 80.000 according to EU.
• Only 3 European Countries fullfill recommendation of CoE.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND CHILDREN
Domestic Violence is still a serious problem in the European Union countries and in whole Europe, affecting hundreds of thousands of people, the majority of them women and children, every day.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND CHILDREN
Since the 1970s, help services for women and children victims of
domestic violence have been developed and expanded in the
Western European Countries, thanks to the efforts of the
women’s movement/women’s shelter movement against
domestic Violence and committed State authorities.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND CHILDREN
In the 1990s, in the post-communist era, services for
women and children victims of violence also emerged
in Eastern European countries and what where to
become the new member states of the European
Union.
Several Countries introduced new laws to protect
victims and prevent further violence. The Situation is
especially precarious in a few new EU Member States,
where women’s shelters are non-existent or too few
(CEDAW complaint against the State of Hungary 2006)
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND CHILDREN
Services are also lacking in other countries of the EU,
with the consequence that women are often unable to
leave a violent husband/partner because there is no
alternative available to them. Effective laws are still
not in place in every country, or they are poorly
implemented and fail to reach the goal of effectively
protecting victims.
Good intentions are not enough to effectively tackle
DV against women and children,
good practice and effective cooperation among all
agencies involved are also needed.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND CHILDREN
Violence against Women and children is a serious and
dangerous problem. Women and children are
regularly killed or severely injured, especially when
the victims try to leave the violent partners.
ALL IMPORTANT AGENCIES SHOULD BE INVOLVED..
Therefore all agencies involved in the issue, especially
the police and the justice system, have a responsibility
to protect the victims, to prevent further violence an
to provide the best and most effective services and
interventions. Also the health system has to be
involved.
women’s helpline, child care services, counselling
centres also for migrant women etc..) are not
available, multi- agency cooperation easily
becomes inefficient of meanless.
IF SPECIAL SERVICES ARE NOT AVAILABLE.....
For example, if a doctor in a health service is sensitised to
the problem and realises the a victim in acute danger, but
cannot refer the victim in a safe shelter, preventive work is
impossible.
Or if the Police do not have enough patrol cars and staff to
respond to a domestic violence emergency call their help
come too late.
EXAMPLES....
A NETWORK OF WOMEN’S SERVICES AS A PREREQUISITE FOR EFFECTIVE MULTI-AGENCY COOPERATION
The most important prerequisite
violence in all regions and country.
A NETWORK OF WOMEN’S SERVICES AS A PREREQUISITE FOR EFFECTIVE MULTI-AGENCY COOPERATION
Adequate resources for all services and
institutions involved in domestic
successful interventions and effective
cooperation.
A NETWORK OF WOMEN’S SERVICES AS A PREREQUISITE FOR EFFECTIVE MULTI-AGENCY COOPERATION
To escape violent relationships is difficult and
dangerous. Therefore, the provision of safe housing
in women’s shelters is a core task of every society.
Laws for protection are indispensable, but it should
be noted they do not provide a solution for every
survivors.
A NETWORK OF WOMEN’S SERVICES AS A PREREQUISITE FOR EFFECTIVE MULTI-AGENCY COOPERATION
Experience with the Austrian Protection Against
Violence Act has shown that the number of women
and children seeking help in women’s shelters has
not declined since the law was enacted. Thus, what
is needed is both effective laws and safe housing in
shelters.
A NETWORK OF WOMEN’S SERVICES AS A PREREQUISITE FOR EFFECTIVE MULTI-AGENCY COOPERATION
Every country/region should provide a
comprehensive network for services for
women and children victims of DV.
•At least one nationwide emergency women’s helpline
operating round the clock, free of charge, counselling in
several languages
•Nationwide, an adequate number of places in women’s shelters
•(minimum of one place per 10.000 inhabitants) round- the-clock service, free transport to shelters
GOOD PRACTICE INDICATORS IN THE PROVISION OF SERVICES FOR SURVIVORS
•Adequate safety standards in women’s shelters
•Nationwide network of counselling and intervention centres (one centre per 50.000 inhabitants)
•Rape crisis centres (one centre per 20.000 inhabitants)
GOOD PRACTICE INDICATORS IN THE PROVISION OF SERVICES FOR SURVIVORS
•Pro active approach: If a case of violence becomes public, the victims must be actively contacted be the women’s help organisation or intervention centre and offered help.
•Outreach services
GOOD PRACTICE INDICATORS IN THE PROVISION OF SERVICES FOR SURVIVORS
•Adequate help for specific and vulnerable groups: migrant women, members of ethnic minorities, women with special needs
•Comprehensive help for children
GOOD PRACTICE INDICATORS IN THE PROVISION OF SERVICES FOR SURVIVORS
•Women’s Services should be run by experienced, independent women’s NGOs in partnership with the State authorities.
•Adequate financing of women’s services by the state
•Services for victims should be free of charge
GOOD PRACTICE INDICATORS IN THE PROVISION OF SERVICES FOR SURVIVORS
Abuser programmes – they need to be integrated in an
overall intervention sheme and coupled with legal
protection and support for the victim. Perpetrator
programmes must always cooperate with women’s
support services.
GOOD PRACTICE INDICATORS IN THE PROVISION OF SERVICES FOR SURVIVORS
DV IN AUSTRIA – FACTS & FIGURES
•every 5th woman is likely to experience DV •3220: 1.600 women + 1.620 children in women’s shelters (2008)‏ •6.566 eviction orders against perpetrators were issued by the Austrian police (2008)‏ (almost every hour the police has an operation concerning domestic violence) •70 percent of all homicides nationwide happened within the family, victims mostly women and children (2007)‏ •30-40 women are murdered by their partners/ex-partners every year CEDAW complaint Austria 2006 because of two femicides on migrant women.
HISTORY OF WOMEN’S SHELTERS SPECIAL SERVICES AND LAWS
•1972: 1st women’s shelter in Europe/London •1978: 1st women‘s shelter in Austria/Vienna •1988: Austrian Women‘s Shelter Network •1998: nationwide Women’s Helpline against male Violence •1997: Austrian legislation on protection against DV •2009: 30 women’s shelter and •6 Women’s counselling centres focused on violence against women •45-50 generally women’s service centres •6 regional hotlines for sexual violence, •And 1 nationwide emergency women’s helpline, free of charge running 24 hours per day in Vienna
HISTORY OF WOMEN’S SHELTERS, SERVICES AND LAWS
•Since: 1985 Men Counselling Centres (approx. 15) •Since: 1999 One Perpetrator Programme •Since 1994, contradictory and gentle hearing of women and children witnesses is legally ensured, so survivors can testify without meeting the perpetrator •On January 1st of 2006, psychosocial and legal court accompaniment free of charge was introduced. All victims of violence or crime have the right to a professional accompaniment from the time of filing charges until the end of the criminal case.
HISTORY OF WOMEN’S SHELTERS, SERVICES AND LAWS
•Since 2006, an Anti-stalking law is in force, and female genital mutilation as well as forced marriage is a criminal offence. •Since the amended victims of violence legislation in 2006, all victims of violence living in Austria (migrants, asylum seekers) have the right to therapy free of charge under certain circumstances, and the right to refund of rehabilitation expenses 1st of June 2009, the Second Act on Protection Against Violence entered into force
In several countries with a long tradition of services for women and children victims of violence, multi-agency cooperation had been developed since the 1990s, based on the fact that violence against women and children cuts across many areas and can only eliminated, if all the institutions dealing with the problem cooperate effectively.
MULTI-AGENCY COOPERATION – THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
1990s. Germany, Austria and other countries followed by
introducing new laws, national action plans, interventions
projects and intervention centres to implementing new
laws and new policies of coordinated response to
domestic violence.
MULTI-AGENCY COOPERATION – THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
•Very different local and national initiatives can be subsumed under the term of multi-agency initiatives.
•There are no two initiatives the are exactly the some. Multi-agency projects are mostly grass- roots initiatives that have developed organically in their respective contexts.
MULTI-AGENCY COOPERATION – THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
Models can serve as examples inspiring new
initiatives, but they cannot simply be transfered
from on context to another.
MULTI-AGENCY COOPERATION – THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
INDICATORS OF EFFECTIVE MULTI-AGENCY APPROCHES
•Multi-agencies initiatives are not automatically effective. •In some cases, they are no more than an indication of good will with little, if any practical results, or they remain mere “talking-shops”.
SOME INDICATORS OF EFFECTIVE MULTI- AGENCY APPROACHES
are given below: •Experts from women’s organisations play a central role •The participating institutions are willing and competent to chance their own practice •Cooperation goes beyond mere talk: Concrete, binding objectives are formulated, and projects are planned, implemented and evaluated.
SOME INDICATORS OF EFFECTIVE MULTI-AGENCY APPROACHES
•Each institution contributes the human and financial resources
that are necessary to implement plans and achieve the set
goals
If resources are lacking, even close cooperation by all the
institutions involved will hardly contribute to the improvement
of the vicim’s situation.
•Monitoring domestic Violence interventions and services •Identifying gaps in service and improving services •Coordinating service provision •Developing policies and guidelines •Initiating and organising trainings •Engaging in preventive and awarness-raising work in the community.
TASK FOR MULTI-AGENCY INITIATIVES:
•Ideally, multi-agency initiatives should involve actors from all agencies dealing with domestic violence that play a role in improving service and Prevention.
•However, practice has shown that is not easy to get all the actors the same table.
ACTORS INVOLVED
Activists from multi-agency initiatives have come to the
conclusion that, in order to start a project that has a good
chance of continuing for some times, it is not necessary to
involve all the agencies from the beginning.
On the contrary, too many participants can make it
difficult to work in a goal-oriented way and to achieve
concrete conclusion.
ACTORS INVOLVED
•It is important to start small
•Grow slowly in accordance with the resources available •Act according to the principle: “Whoever it is committed to the cause is the right person” •Seek to broaden the base and influence of the multi-agency initiatives •Seek to involve member at both the management and the grass-roots level.
ACTORS INVOLVED
share and differences that distinguish the from one other
USA: known as „coordinated community response“
(evolved early 1980s)
forums have emerged since 1990s)
MODELS OF MULTI-AGENCY COOPERATION
Austria and Switzerland: „Interventionsstellen“,
MODELS OF MULTI-AGENCY COOPERATION
victims, e.g. victims belonging to ethnic
minorities, migrant communities or high risk
victims.
very high risk victims
•NETWORKING AND MULTI-AGENCY
MAKING LEVEL
•MULTI-AGENCY SERVICES
•Takes place in multi-agency working groups
•It can be the first step towards more institutionalised
multi-agency work
A danger of this form of cooperation is that participants
may never get past the first phase of exchanging ideas and
learning from each other.
•...Can be the first step taken before involving more
agencies
•Agencies often fear being „shamed and blamed“ in a big
forum
strengthen working relationships
cooperations.
MULTI-AGENCY FORUM AND ROUND TABLE
• involving senior policy makers from political and
administrative bodies, institutions and agencies.
•The goals could be to develope action plans, progress
reports together, better funding for
services...implementing laws..
integrated.
Institutionalised services- Intervention chain
Police, justice and women‘s NGOs play an important role
Austria: the implementation of the domestic violence act has been
successful in establishing close cooperation between police, civil
courts and intervention centres run by women‘s NGOs.
Berlin: a mobile intervention team for the support of victims has been
installed they can be called by the police to support them during their
intervention
UK: New coordinated services are the new Specialist DV Courts or the
Specialist Prosecutor.
Special Multy-agency service: MARACs
Special service for high risk victims in the UK in form of multi-agency
risk-assessment conferences.
The police identify victims with a high risk to repeat victimisation by
applying risk-assassment instrument to all victims of DV.
Several different agencies, NGOs are involved,
They meet regulary to exange information and to evaluate their work.
Evaluation research has shown, that the majority (60%) fo the victims
supported by MARACs had not been revictimisied after one year.
MODELS OF MULTI-AGENCY-SERVICES
E-mail: office@wave-network.org www.wave-network.org