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Description
According to police figures on the Blue Charter, in 2019 there was a rise in the rate of cases of domestic abuse in the Łódzkie Voivodship. The most common form of abuse is mental abuse, but the number of victims of physical abuse has also risen. There is very little awareness of the problem of gender-based violence, and no measures are taken to raise awareness of violence mechanisms and the system of support for victims. Under the project, a public campaign will be conducted in the Łódzkie Voivodship to increase awareness of the cultural and social causes of gender-based violence and the ways it can be combatted. The campaign will consist of online and outdoor activities, and will be combined with awareness-raising activities intended for teachers, boys and young men, victims of violence, employees of institutions and services that victims of violence turn to, and others. Łódź CSOs, schools, and representatives of the Municipal Authority will also be included in the measures. We will make use of support and cooperation with organizations working to defend women''s rights and rights of victims of violence in the Łódzkie Voivodship. The project findings and materials will be collated in a report. The project will be implemented in partnership with the Icelandic Women''s Rights Association and the Bulgarian Center for Lifelong Learning. The partners will contribute their know-how relating to cross-sector cooperation and lobbying for measures to combat violence and will give the project more exposure due to being part of international networks.
Summary of project results
According to the police''s Blue Card data, there was an increase in the number of cases of domestic violence in 2019 in the Lodz Voivodeship. The most common form of violence is psychological violence, but the number of victims of physical abuse has also increased. Moreover, the significant increase in domestic violence has been influenced by the pandemic. Public awareness of the problem of gender-based violence is still very low. There are no regular, systematic educational activities on the mechanisms of violence and the support system for those experiencing it. There is a particular lack of initiatives targeting men and potential and actual perpetrators of violence.
The project carried out a number of activities in the Lodz Voivodeship raising awareness on the cultural and social sources of gender-based violence and ways of counteracting it. The activities were diverse but complementary. At the first stage of the project, a survey was conducted on the state of implementation of gender violence prevention policies and solutions. The Project Promoter went on a study visit to the Partner, Icelandic Women''s Rights Association, where it learned about good practices in preventing and dealing with the effects of gender-based violence and inter-institutional cooperation in this area. Two so-called roundtables were also held with representatives and representatives of the third sector and with policy and decision makers. Three anti-discrimination workshops were held for different groups of men, as well as a self-defence and assertiveness workshop for women from the Specialised Support Centre for Victims of Family Violence in Łódź. All workshop participants also benefited from psychological consultations. The social campaign was conducted both in the public space of Lodz and on the Internet; it was designed taking into account the experience of both the study visit and the input of those participating in the WenDo training for women and the anti-discrimination workshop for men. The Project Promoter also prepared a recording of a workshop for educational councils on violence prevention in Lodz schools and distributed it to primary and secondary schools in Lodz. Workshops were organised with three pedagogical councils of Łódź primary schools.
The project targeted various social groups: people with experience of violence using the support of the Specialised Support Centre for Victims of Family Violence in Lodz, pedagogical staff from the Lodz region, young men and fathers - statistically the most frequent perpetrators of violence against women, and finally the local community of Lodz and other towns in the region. Undoubtedly, the most noticeable result was the empowerment of women taking part in WenDo workshops, as well as the Łódź City Hall''s declaration of funding for public institutions for counteracting violence in Łódź. The knowledge of teachers about the Blue Card procedure has increased. An important element of the project was a campaign aimed at young fathers and men, a group which is usually the perpetrator of violence and which is at the same time neglected by the institutions of the violence prevention system. As part of the campaign, recommendations were developed for parliamentarians dealing with this issue.
Summary of bilateral results
Engaging with our partner in Iceland has enabled us to gather valuable information and broaden our perspective on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence. Through this cooperation, we became familiar with the systemic solutions and approaches to countering violence used in Iceland.During the study visit, which was completely organised by our Icelandic partner, we had the opportunity to participate in meetings tailored to our pre-reported needs for broadening knowledge and awareness. The information gathered allowed our project team to better understand the topic and to incorporate this perspective into the materials, training and awareness-raising campaigns we created and ran on social media.As a result, this contributed significantly to improving the quality of our project and activities. Although we did not develop common solutions, we extensively described the systemic differences in the report of the study visit that took place in November 2021. We realised that the systems in Poland and Iceland differ significantly, making direct transfer of solutions impossible.Our aim was to explore how Icelandic knowledge can be used in Poland, given the effectiveness of the Icelandic model. We hope for further cooperation, but as of today no formal agreements or arrangements have been signed.