Daphne Programme from the European Commission
Directorate General for Justice and Home Affairs 

The Daphne Programme (2000-2007), a four-year multiannual programme of community action on preventive measures to fight violence against children, young people and women, grew out of the Daphne Initiative, which ran from 1997 to 1999 on an annual basis.

The Initiative arose as part of the European Commission's response to growing concern about violence aimed against children, young people and women in Europe. Its remit was wide: to facilitate, through a funding line of 11.8 million ECU over the course of the Initiative, NGO and multisectoral action. Violence was understood in the widest possible sense, from sexual abuse to domestic violence, from commercial exploitation to bullying in schools, from trafficking to discrimination-based violence against disabled, minority, migrant or other vulnerable people. In 1997, the Daphne Initiative funded 46 projects, in 1998 49, and in 1999 54 projects were approved for funding.

With the introduction of the Daphne Programme (2000-2003), the remit of possible activity has widened in three principle areas: a wider group of organizations is eligible to submit applications for funding; the geographical coverage is extended; projects may now run for more than one year. Fuller details of these new elements, as well as of both general and specific annual criteria, are available in the section General aims and annual priorities.

A call for proposals is published each year, usually in March, in the EC Official Journal. Organizations wishing to apply for funding under the Daphne Programme should request an Application Form  and Guidelines for Applicants . Successful projects are normally announced in September or October each year. Project sponsors are encouraged to share information on their work, and this is promoted through an informal newsletter, Daphne News.

Final reports are submitted within three months of the end of the project. Copies of these reports are included in the Daphne project database. This is a useful resource to all those working in the fight against violence against children, young people and women, and is an essential reference for organizations preparing projects for funding. Press releases related to the Programme and other official announcements are accessible in the News and Updates section of this site.

You will also find useful links to other partners on this site.

European campaign to raise awareness on violence against women
http://europa.eu.int/comm/

In response to the 1997 European Parliament resolution on the need to establish a European Union wide campaign for zero tolerance of violence against women, the European Commission has been conducting in 1999/2000 a European campaign to raise awareness on violence against women. The campaign is intended to promote increased awareness among European citizens of violence against women, with particular emphasis on domestic violence.

This campaign fits into the follow-up to the 1995 Beijing platform and demonstrates the Commission's resolve and commitment to integrate the gender dimension in all its policies. The Commission likewise  undertakes specific programmes to tackle the problem of violence (DAPHNE, STOP).

The campaign is buildt on the EU's fundamental commitment to defend women's rights as human rights and endeavoures to stem violent behaviour. The campaign put across the following messages:

"elimination of all forms of violence, including domestic violence, is an absolute priority"
"zero tolerance of violence against women"

The Commission has carried out a range of initiatives, including the dissemination of the findings of studies and research conducted in the Member States, in order to get these messages across effectively. In this context, the former Commissioner Anita Gradin presented on 14 July 1999 the Eurobarometer n°51.0 on "Europeans and their views on domestic violence against women".

To have the broadest possible impact on European citizens, the campaign has encompassed radio and television advertising. Slogans and relevant messages have also been dispersed via the Internet. Additional materials, such as posters and brochures, have been circulating through the relevant national Ministries, local authorities and NGOs as well as the Commission information networks and the Commission offices in the Member States.

A European interministerial conference on violence against women was held in Cologne in March 1999 (recommendations), under the German Council Presidency, an expert meeting on violence against women was organised by the Finish Presidency in Jyväskylä in November 1999 (press release, recommendations) and the closing conference took place in May 2000 in Lisbon under the Portuguese Council Presidency (press release, study)

Rationale

Domestic violence exists in all countries and across all social classes. It may be something that happens behind closed doors, but it is clearly a problem for society as a whole. 

The European campaign to prevent violence against women underlined the political will of the Union to curb this sad phenomenon and to bring it out of the closed family environment. The following statistics serve to illustrate the scale of the problem: 

• in the EU, one woman in five has at least once in her life been the victim of violence by her male partner; 

• 25% of all violent crimes reported involve a man assaulting his wife or partner. 

Every year, thousands of women and children leave their homes because they are victims of abuse. 

These terrible statistics make it all the more urgent that action is taken. 

Various measures have been taken by the Member States: some EU countries have created 'helplines' to aid the victims, others have organised national awareness campaigns. 

The European campaign to prevent domestic violence against women will support and add to these measures. The European Commission, in collaboration with NGOs, is supporting a series of initiatives on the ground with the aim of contributing to a change in attitudes. 

At the European level, the campaign is designed to reinforce the message that violence against women is a social phenomenon that involves not only victims and abusers, but also all those who witness abuse, including the police, the judiciary, the teaching profession whose role it is to promote non-violence, and the social and medical workers involved in coping with the consequences of violent acts. 

The Commission has formulated several messages, addressed to the different target groups concerned: 

 For male abusers, the messages are:   

• domestic violence is a crime; 

• domestic violence will ruin your life as an abuser as much as the life of your victim, and; 

• help exists if you want to put an end to your violent behaviour. 

For women victims of violence, the messages are:   

• break the wall of silence surrounding domestic violence! 

• don't tolerate violence! 

• help exists, find out how! 

For all those who witness domestic violence, the messages are:   

• help women victims of violence break the silence 

• help them escape from victimisation. 

Documents

• Special issue of the "Women of Europe" newsletter: Domestic violence against women available in PDF format 

• Breaking the silence brochure available in PDF format 

• Brochure extracted from Eurobarometer n°51.0 

• Eurobarometer n° 51.0: Europeans and their views on domestic violence against women 

• Press release (14/07/1999) 

Posters 1.          2.          3.

You can obtain these and other Campaign posters (subject to their availability) free of charge by sending us an e-mail indicating your postal address, the number of posters and in which langues you wish to receive  them.