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Description
The main objective of the project is to improve the domestic violence prevention system for the elderly and people with disabilities in Poland. The elderly and people with disabilities are particularly vulnerable and often have limited access to support services. The activities planned within the project shall be in line with the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Concention), in particular with Article 4 of the Convention according to which the implementation of the provisions of the Convention by the Parties, in particular measures to protect the rights of victims, shall be secured without discrimination on any ground including age and disability. The project shall aim at prioritizing victims’ rights and needs.
The main activities to be implemented under the project are:
- Prevalence study on violence against the elderly and people with disabilities in Poland and assessment of the support system;
- Development and evaluation of the prevention and family support model, tailored to the needs of the elderly and people with disabilietes, victims of domestic violence. The support model will encompass prevention, as well as intervention and support measures. It will be based on multiagency cooperation at the local level. The model will be piloted and evaluated. After evaluation the model will be published, also in electronic form, to ensure it is widely disseminated.
- Social campaign raising awareness on domestic violence against the elderly and people with disabilities (TV, internet and press);
- Training for professionals (social workers, police officers, health care professionals and support staff).
The project will contribute to the improvement of the domestic violence prevention system in Poland. It applies a comprehensive approach with a focus on victims with special needs, such as the elderly and people with disabilities.
Summary of project results
Violence against vulnerable groups is an important social problem, especially in the context of the demographic processes of aging in recent years, but also due to the fact that seniors have limited access to support due to, among other things, age, health, dependence on others and lack of awareness of their rights.
1. There was a need to study the exact scale and characteristics of the phenomenon of violence against the elderly and disabled, which made it possible to identify the needs for counteracting this phenomenon (due to the frequent isolation of the elderly and disabled, an accurate estimate of the scale of the phenomenon is difficult).
2. Due to the frequent isolation of the elderly and disabled may have difficult access to assistance, the need for special measures to take into account the conditions arising from old age or health.
3. Despite a number of awareness-raising activities, a part of society is still indifferent to acts of violence against the elderly and disabled.
The main objective of the project was to improve the functioning of the system for counteracting violence against the elderly and disabled.
The project, by increasing public awareness, increasing the competence of services and developing a model of support, was expected to contribute to improving the quality and effectiveness of interventions to counteract the phenomenon of violence, both in the area of prevention of violence against the elderly and disabled, as well as in terms of the support provided.
Project activities:
1. Determining the scale and characteristics of the issue of violence against the elderly and disabled; The diagnosis included, among other things, the characteristics and scale of the phenomenon, taking into account the forms of violence, the characteristics of the perpetrators of violence and families in which violence most often occurs, beliefs and stereotypes, as well as the characteristics of the infrastructure and support system for the elderly and disabled experiencing violence. The results of the diagnosis were the basis for developing a model of prevention and support .
2. Developing a model of support for elderly and disabled persons at risk of and experiencing violence and their families; The model is based on the cooperation of local services and takes into account the situation and needs of elderly and disabled people and their families. The model assumes activities on two levels - prevention and intervention and assistance activities:
- identification of the elderly and disabled and diagnosis of the situation of the family
- if violence is found, actions based on the “Blue Cards” procedure,
- in a situation where violence is not identified, but the family requires support, development of social work/support indications for the family.
3. The increase of social awareness and sensitivity to the problem of violence against the elderly and disabled; The aim of the campaign was to increase knowledge of the rights of the elderly and disabled, increase knowledge of the possibility of obtaining help by, among other things, providing information on places and institutions that provide support, increasing social sensitivity, as well as reducing acquiescence to mistreatment, overcoming social indifference and motivating witnesses to respond appropriately to violence- the activity was removed from the project in consultation with donors.
4. Increase in the competence of services implementing tasks in the area of counteracting violence in the family, especially in working with the elderly and disabled. Trainings for “first contact” employees carrying out tasks in the area of counteracting domestic violence were aimed at strengthening cooperation between representatives of the institutions involved and improving the effectiveness of assistance to people experiencing violence, especially the elderly and disabled. 1,951 specialists were trained.
Both the MODEL and all training materials are freely available to all stakeholders.
This means that the use of the products produced, will translate directly not only into the maintenance of the result developed in the project, but will also enable its further increase in use in counteracting violence against the elderly and disabled, even after the end of the project.
The developed solutions and good practices in prevention and support activities, implemented in the places where the model will be tested, will be able to be implemented in other municipalities. This will ensure a greater scale of impact and sustainability of the project results. Representatives of services implementing tasks in the area of counteracting domestic violence will be better prepared to work with the elderly and people with disabilities and will use the acquired knowledge and skills in their work with families. The evaluation of projects developing local support systems and enriching them with innovative solutions for prevention and support activities, at the local level, will contribute to the implementation of the developed solutions, in other municipalities. This will ensure a greater scale of impact and sustainability of project results.
The project successfully achieved its planned objectives in the field of prevention and support for the elderly and people with disabilities experiencing domestic violence.
A prevention and support model for these vulnerable groups was developed, meeting the target value of one model. Additionally, recommendations and guidelines within this framework were formulated, exceeding expectations with 20 recommendations instead of the planned 15.
The project also aimed to publish 1,000 copies of the family support model. However, to enhance accessibility and outreach, the decision was made to distribute the model electronically rather than in print. It was made available on both the project website (https://www.gov.pl/web/pdp3-ms) and the Ministry of Justice website (https://www.gov.pl/web/sprawiedliwosc/opracowalismy-model-profilaktyki-przeciwdzialania-przemocy-wobec-osob-starszych-i-niepelnosprawnych-zagrozonych-i-doznajacych-przemocy-oraz-ich-rodzin).
An evaluation report was prepared as planned, meeting the target of one report.
Regarding training sessions for representatives of services and institutions involved in combating domestic violence, 70 out of the targeted 96 sessions were conducted. Despite this, the overall number of trained individuals exceeded the goal, with 1,951 participants (1,753 women and 198 men), surpassing the initial target of 1,900.