Daphne projects related to men involved in the fight
againts violence against women

Recommendations overview

September 2004

White Ribbon Österreich for the Daphne-toolkit

Verein von Männern zur Prävention von männlicher Gewalt

email: whiteribbon(AT)austromail.at

http://www.whiteribbon.at

Daphne projects supported by the European Commission

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CIIR - Catholic Institute for International Relations - International Cooperation for Development

http://www.ciir.org

Daphne project: 2000/027/W

Recommendations related to:

Gender, Masculinity and Violence : Breaking the Chains

For actors

Men, that work with violent men, should always consider that abuse generates specific veiling dynamics. Most of the perpetrators are very inventive to make other people responsible for their deeds. So for that kind of work professional counselling is unavoidable.

Being integrated in a network with other institutions makes exchange possible on one hand to stay up to date and on the other hand to develop common standards of quality.

For the European Commission

It is practicable to support projects which exceed the borders of European countries. When there are common languages and cultural roots intercultural exchange presents itself.

As male violence is a tabooed problem that exists in all cultural and social levels it is necessary to make this topic public.

If the EC sees itself as a big peace project, all efforts for a peaceful living together have to be supported and financed.

For future authors of projects

As the report shows one year is not enough time for such a voluminous project, even if follow-up activities are planned to grant lasting.

A good cooperation with all medias is necessary to make the public sensitive to this topic.

It was worth while to invite the visitors of Central America for a speaking tour and not only for one lecture. Many participants were inspired to hear about the work of the visitors at the conference and during the public or professional-target meetings.

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EUGET - European Society Counselling

http://www.euget.org/

Daphne project: 2002/234/WYC

Recommendations related to the project:

Violence Perpetrators Therapy

For Actors

A solid financial basis for such a technology-based project is necessary. The search for private sponsors might be essential to cover the long term existence of a telephone hotline.

For the public relations of a social projects it is recommendable to cooperate with professional PR agencies - which EUGET did. (Although the Violence-Hotline Posters of EUGET are technically perfect, some of the slogans might be mistaken for other topics as the domestic violence issue: "Can she ( wife ) still trust you ?" - "Do you know if your wife loves you ?" - "What about your self-respect ?" ). It is those specialists who know about how to approach a target group for a certain topic without causing misunderstanding about the aim or the background of an information campaign.

It can be questioned if a higher cooperation with women ( be it within the project team and in the cooperating institutions ) could be helpful. Women professionally involved in the work with victims could give additional information about how to approach the male target group.

European Commission

A violence telephone hotline for men is a very good approach to reach the violent perpetrator - a very "hidden" target group.

Undoubtedly similar projects in other countries should be supported. They could benefit from the experiences of this project in the german speaking countries.

It could be discussed if the daily hours where the hotline is reachable could be delayed to the evening. In the current time schedule from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Mondays to Fridays many men are at work or on their ways from / to work and might not have the time or quietness to start a call about such an intimate topic.

Future Authors of Projects:

The combination of counseling and pedagogic seems to be very useful.

The international cooperation leads to professional exchange of counseling techniques, strategies and experience.

The cooperation with all official institutions ( including the police, women’s shelters, judicial staff and NGOs ) dealing with the protection of victims seems to be essential to assure an overall dissemination of the information.

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Women's International League for Peace and Freedom - WILPF

http://ukwilpf.gn.apc.org/

Daphne project 1998/043/WC

Recommendations related to the project:

Developing best professional practice for reducing sexual abuse and trafficking in militarised areas of peace-time Europe

For actors

For implementing a project in a strong hierarchical organisation it is necessary to get permission from the leadership. If the leaders are interested in the subject and therefore support an implementation actively, then this can be good for acceptance within the organisation.

The evaluation about a real situation related to the planned theme of the project is a good basis for discussion, and the practicability of the project can consider the specific situation.

For the European Commission

If the task of European armies is to be enlarged by peacekeeping measures a differentiated and critical discussion with the topic of violence will be necessary. Above all the difference between justified and unjustified use of violence is open to a wide field of interpretations.

Should prevention of violence become a part of military training, the social situation has to be involved. As domestic violence has a social taboo, it is important for the families of soldiers to attract attention to these problems. To get help in critical situations it is necessary to establish public advice centres and support systems which can be visited accessed.

As the armed forces of European countries co-operate more and more, the European Commission should promote international projects like thist.

For future authors of projects

For projects that are directed at men it would be an advantage for women’s institutions and men’s institutions to co-operate. This would reduce any prejudice against perceived feminist tendencies.

You should take into consideration if a joint project with the participation of organisations as military, police, prison, customs officials and others makes sense. For the men involved an interdisciplinary exchange could open up most different perspectives.

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Centro per donne che hanno subito violenza

http://www.comune.modena.it/associazioni/cddonna/casa.htm

Daphne project: 1998/211/W

Recommendations related to the project:

Violent Men: What to do with them? Responses to men who use violence against women: a European comparative analysis

For actors, the European Commission and future project authors:

As we found the recommendations developed in the project so useful we decided to quote them here in full length

(Quote)

The theoretical orientation of projects for men who use violence against their partners should recognise the importance of a gender analysis of domestic violence, which refers to its social, economic and cultural roots and to the disparities of power between men and women which are both of a symbolic and material nature. This orientation must be clear and well articulated.
The intervention should take into account individual and socio-cultural aspects of the problem and combine methodologies and techniques of interventions with a gender understanding not only of the phenomenon of violence as a whole but also of the single violent events. The sexism which contributes to the development of violent behaviours should be recognised as well as the use of violence as a form of power and control within the relationship.
Projects should give a clear and unequivocal message that the use of violence within a relationship is always unacceptable, whatever is the personal history of the men or the context within which violence takes place. They should point out that men who use violence are the only ones responsible for their violent behaviour.
The safety of women partners and children should be of paramount importance as well as contacts and co-operation with shelters and anti-violence centres that already exist. Programmes for men who use violence should developed safety plans and monitor their effectiveness through separate contacts with women partners.
Projects should avoid competing directly for funds with groups who work with victim of domestic violence. If there is no shelter for women suffering domestic violence in a local area, no programme for men should be started before a shelter has been set up.
The primary goal of any programme should be to end any forms of violence or controlling behaviours perpetrated by men. There is no meaning in pursuing self-esteem or increasing communication skills or supplying anger management techniques, if violent behaviours are not “seen” and targeted to be reduced/eliminated.
The intervention should consider men as perpetrator and not as victims. It should focus on violent behaviours and violent events and workers should be prepared to respond to men’s tactics of minimisation, denial and blame.
A broad definition of domestic violence should be assumed by programmes which must address not only the most apparent acts of physical violence but also psychological, emotional, financial and sexual abuse. The effects of these behaviours could be devastating at the same extent of physical violence.
Programmes for men should be rooted as much as possible in the community and work closely with other subjects and agencies in both statutory and voluntary sectors, such as: shelter, anti-violence centres, social and health services, Police and courts. A wide context of community action begins a process of change which overcomes the limits of the individual intervention.
The implementation of a programme requires time for planning, programme development, specific training for workers and for building up relationships with a variety of social institutions. A congruent and influential message about violence will be more likely to be obtained if different agencies co-ordinate their responses.
The implementation of a programme requires adequate evaluation instruments.

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EUROWRC

www.eurowrc.org

Daphne project 1999/156/WC

Recommendations related to the project:

The White Ribbon Campaign in Europe

Men working to end men´s violence against women

For actors:

To make projects like the WRC work it is necessary to form groups of men who want to get involved with the campaign. Funding is essential especially for public relations. The structure of the White Ribbon Initiative allows outsourcing of several modules (Education Kit, posters,). There are already numerous publications and educational material for public relations available and the existing networks between EuroWRC and the offices in the countries can be used to start new initiatives.

For the European Commission:

The White Ribbon Initiative aims at a fundamental change of social structures by public work and discussions around the topic of (domestic) violence. Men are encouraged to take responsibility for their own actions and for their fellow citizens, too, whereby social structures are strengthened. It is crucial that public financial backers provide the necessary funding.

For future authors of project:

By directly addressing men, it is necessary to raise awareness for violence against women and children being a topic that concerns men. It is very easy to address the core topic of the WRC, and the campaign offers a large scale of possibilities of participation on different levels that obliges interested parties to choose their level of contribution individually. Men of all social backgrounds are invited to participate in the White Ribbon Initiative which can lead to a very broad basis for structural change in society, specifically by creating a modern male role model beyond patriarchal power schemes. Therefore the enormous benefit for all parties involved is apparent.

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The City of Edinburgh Council

http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/

Daphne project 2000/269/WC

Recommendations related to the project:

‘Working with Men

as part of a multi-agency approach to tackling domestic abuse’

For initiators:

Here are some questions one could propose concerning the activities:

- What and where can men that are using violence be reached?

- What professionals should be involved?

- What trainings or skills are needed to address the perpetrators?

- In which network are the activities imbedded?

- Are women’s and men’s organisations represented?

European commission:

- Networking plays an important role, especially for the exchange of the needs of the women’s side and the efforts men’s organisations are doing.

- Every professional working in the field of violence benefits from supervision

- Gender based work is crucial in this area and should therefore be represented in any chosen actions

Future project developers:

Here are some questions one could propose concerning the project:

- How did other projects try to involve men?

- How and where can men that are using violence be reached?

- What professionals could be involved?

- How and where can men be motivated to get involved? What ‘benefit’ could this have?

- How is the primacy of women’s and victims prevention represented in a project addressed to men?

- Is there a network planned between women’s organisations and men’s organisations?

- How is the representation of women and men in the project planned?

- With what image of men is the project written?

- Are men who want to get involved being taken into consideration?