The Commission on Gender Based Violence and Domestic Violence have been granted a project under the EEA/ Norway Grants under the title: Enhancing Cross Border Cooperation to Combat Gender-Based Violence.
Such an initiative will include organisations from Malta, Norway and Iceland in order to have a better collaboration on the network between stakeholders working in the field. The aim behind this is to have a stronger approach on how to combat the issue of gender-based violence (GBV) and domestic violence (DV).
Through such initiative, practices and ideas from different countries can be exchanged while also identifying any challenges or successful initiatives in each country to create new approaches on battling such issue. Such engagement in discussion can also rise idea generation and solution-oriented collaborative project development essential for service providers and policy makers.
The timeframe of this project is of January 2025 to March 2025.
The project will contain of 3 activities being:
Activity 1: Attending the Synergy Conference
On the 20th and 21st January of 2025, the 3 countries have met up in Brussels for a Synergy conference which aimed to reinforce European cooperation regarding gender-based violence and domestic violence. The Synergy network aims to bring together both governmental and non-governmental stakeholders from European countries to:
- Attain further knowledge about European standards,
- enhance a more collaborative approach, funding mechanisms, exchange promising practices,
- gain insights from new data collection and research, to link people from different professional backgrounds and countries and
- identify new and innovative solutions.
Thirteen representatives from Malta have attended this conference 3 from the Commission on Gender Based Violence and 10 from Foundation of Social Welfare Services. Throughout this conference the representatives had the opportunity to meet up ith the partners and also network with other government and non governmental organisations who form part of the Synergy network tied to the EEA and Norway grants. Apart from networking the Maltese delegation had the opportunity to learn good practices from previous projects granted through the EEA/Norway Grants and also had the opportunity to form part of discussions tied to the main thematic areas of the Istanbul Convention.
Activity 2: Norway Visit
Norway invites the Maltese representatives to look at their way of working on such issue, where specifically visits will be conducted at shelters and support services in Oslo. This will occur through KUN creating and planning an agenda for the Maltese representatives. Throughout the experience, meetings will be conducted to discuss any gaps identified as well as any ongoing work to have a brainstorming activity related to idea generation for the next funding programme. Finally, there will be a formed document, comparing similarities and differences between the countries. The Maltese delegation will be going to Norway between the 17th and 20th of February.
Activity 3: Malta visit and conference
The Commission on Gender-Based Violence and Domestic Violence will carry out a conference in March focused for collaborative committees and professionals working in such field, where both Norwegian and Icelandic delegates will be present. The content will cover the comparative document, which was mentioned in activity 2 where furthermore, the other delegates are invited to share their good practices amongst the professionals. Workshops will also occur to encourage future collaboration and idea generation. The Foundation for Social Welfare services then will plan an agenda for the Icelandic and Norwegian delegations to visit support services aimed to assist victims of domestic violence and gender-based violence.
Commission on Gender-Based Violence and Domestic Violence – The Commission is responsible for implementing Article 10 of the Istanbul convention in Malta through coordinating and monitoring national strategies based on this issue, promote multi-agency collaboration to improve services, plan training for professionals, carry out awareness campaigns, support research and making any relevant data accessible to the public. The Commission on Gender Based Violence and Domestic Violence is also the lead of this trilateral initiative. For more information on the Commission Click here
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KUN-Centre for Equality and Diversity- KUN is a civil society organisation base din Norway which focuses on equal opportunities for participation and shaping lives. . They conduct research, run workshops, arrange courses and conferences, and plan study trips within different areas. They provide insights for change through the use of a systematic approach which breaks down the gap between research and practice. For more information on Kun- click here
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Foundation for Social Welfare Services- The Foundation for Social Welfare Services In Malta aims to support, empower and uplift individuals enabling them to become responsible and active members of society. Its main goals are to provide social welfare services, specifically linked to alcohol, substance abuse, family welfare and other social issues present in the country including domestic violence. Within FSWS one can find the Domestic Violence Unit where they assist victims at times of crises by proving them with immediate aid to meet their immediate needs, carrying out a risk assessment with the victim, helping the, develop a safety plan as well as providing ongoing support. For more information on FSWS click here |
Rachel Eapen Paul Consultancy- Rachel has been working on gender based violence and domestic violence for more than 30 years. Her professional experience is of a policy director at the office of the equality and anti-discrimination Ombud-LDO. At LDO she lead work on GBV, including advocacy and policy follow-up. She participated in international projects on gender equality and GBV with EU funding, conducted research on shelter services for battered women in Nordic countries and is a board member of many organisations, one of them being the shelter in Oslo. For more information on Rachel’s professional experience click here.
Ministry of Justice in Iceland- The Ministry of Justice in Iceland is responsible for the overall justice system and assure that civil rights are being equally respected. This includes tasks enlarged into many areas of society such as immigration, the coast guard, personal rights, public prosecution and much more. For more information on the work of the Ministry click here |
