The activities and results of the project were summarised by Christer Haglund, Director of the Estonian Office of the Nordic Council of Ministers, whose presentation can be viewed here.
Each country had a different strategy to protect and assist victims of violence during the Covid-19 crisis. As part of the ‘New ways to tackle gender-based violence’ project, a study was carried out to analyse the actions, statistics and lessons learned in each of the Nordic and Baltic countries during the crisis.
The results of this survey were presented by Kaja Södor from the market research company Turu-uuringute AS on 7 December and can be viewed here:
Photos taken during the presentation of the study can be viewed here.
At the round table held on 8 December, specialists from the Nordic and Baltic countries explained how children are treated in domestic violence cases in their countries of origin – either as witnesses or victims. Each country introduced its legislation, procedural law and services. Everyone had success stories as well as problems to share. The attendees discussed whether follow-up activities were needed at the end of the project and the unanimous decision was that it is definitely necessary to continue working on the issues of domestic violence. Iceland, Sweden, Estonia and Latvia are ready to coordinate the follow-up project.
The event also included a visit to the Tallinn Children’s House, where the House’s Director Anna Frank talked about the services they offer. Watch the video “What is the Children’s House?“.
Background of the project
An equal and inclusive society, where everyone lives a good life should be the goal for all of us. One of the prerequisites for an equal society is the absence of any gender-based violence. This is also one of the priorities of the Nordic Council of Ministers, which is why both the Nordic and Baltic countries are working on the development and implementation of effective methods to eradicate all forms of gender-based violence. It was this activity that gave rise to the ‘New ways to tackle gender-based violence’ project.
The objective of the project is to provide a common platform for professionals across the Nordic and Baltic countries to collaborate and communicate in order to raise awareness of gender-based violence, to prevent it and to provide greater support and safety for victims of domestic violence.
The international hybrid conference “Domestic Violence - from near and far” was held within the scope of the project in August 2021, also in Tallinn. Four round tables/study visits in Lithuania, Latvia, Finland and Estonia were held during the project as well. A training course was also organised in Estonia in November 2022, which included two lectures: ‘What is trauma?’ by psychologist Kaia Kastepõld-Tõrs, and ‘Practical examples of trauma informed care in the law enforcement organizations practice’ by Ask Elklit, professor at the University of Southern Denmark. In total, 271 people participated in the various activities of the project on site and 1,400 people watched the conference online.
The project was funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers. The project was launched and co-funded by the Ministry of Social Affairs of the Republic of Estonia, the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Estonia, the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Estonia, the Social Insurance Board, the Police and Border Guard Board and the Prosecutor’s Office.
