Description
Law on Protection against Domestic Violence adopted in 2011 revealed the actual scale of domestic and intimate partner violence (DV/IPV) in Lithuania. This type of crime is characterized as very latent phenomenon, therefore awareness raising of all involved parties is the primary task in the long list of actions aimed at tackling the issue. The project activities are designed to mobilize communities and professionals at local, regional and national level to deal effectively with GBV, fostering zero tolerance towards DV/IPV. These initiatives are to be realized through promotion of NGO networking, training of professionals involved in implementation of women’s rights, provision of specialized help and assistance for victims of DV/IPV and advocacy actions at local, municipal and state level. A pilot model of Specialized Help Centre Coordination Unit shall be implemented seeking for better coordination of activities of 8 regional SHC. SHC CU will coordinate capacity building activities and provision of quality support services for the victims of DV/IPV. Target groups: victims of DV/IPV, NGO’s, local communities, professional groups and decision makers.
Summary of project results
Statistics on domestic violence crimes in Lithuania for the recent 3 years indicate that absolute majority (95%) of victims are women. However, definition of domestic violence as a gender based violence is still not accepted by the society or many professionals. Stakeholders related to this issue often lack deeper understanding of reasons and background of DV, as well as dynamics and consequences of this latent crime, therefore ways and methods of support are not always adequate. The implementation of the law on protection from DV and the development of network for specialized support to victims of DV are assigned to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour, however, no substantial progress is seen – NGOs were not trained for service provision and no efforts were put to coordinate the performance of regional specialized support centres, no centre for coordination established, no unified methodology on collection and sharing of data, etc. The situation suggested the key orientation for the project: a) development of networking opportunities for specialized support centres, b) preparation of methodology and tools for provision of specialized support services, c) development and implementation of advocacy strategy for women’s rights. For the implementation of the abovementioned tasks project promoter aimed to test the model of coordination of specialized support centres. The following tasks were completed and results achieved: a) Trainings for 16 regional specialized support centres conducted, knowledge and competence for provision of social services improved; b) NGOs and civic activists enabled to operate in a network on local and national levels to address DV issues, as well as advocate for zero tolerance towards GBV; c) mechanism of complex social support for DV victims improved at Vilnius municipality, scope of social support increased and more persons received access to social services; d) target group – victims of DV and GBV – informed about state guaranteed specialized complex help and support services available at their area of living; e) volunteer training programme developed and distributed among NGOs addressing DV and GBV issues in all regions of Lithuania. Project is likely to have good sustainability prospects as the unified methodologies and tools developed will help coordinate and improve social services to victims of DV and GBV. The coordinated actions will also benefit the network organization in their advocacy efforts.
Summary of bilateral results