Comparative research - implementing and monitoring prevention programs - Unpaid Report
Executive Summary
Here is a sample from a comprehensive market research report. It addresses the worldwide, disturbing phenomenon of domestic violence and violence against women.
This international review of Western countries struggling with Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence presents policies, legislation measures, and the challenges in the implementation and enforcement of intervention programs. This sample research refers to Denmark and the state of Victoria in Australia.
Countries that have signed the Istanbul Convention have succeeded in reducing the phenomenon of violence, expanding the treatment of violence victims, and carrying out enforcement of legislation. It also includes budget expansion, intervention plans, and significant violence prevention since the signing of the Convention.
The Istanbul Convention is the Convention of the Council of Europe for the Prevention and Combating of Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, (Came into force on 1 August 2014), and constitutes the current international standard in treating Domestic violence.
The Convention provides guidelines and a practical roadmap detailing the actions required to combat violence against women, domestic violence, and violence against children aged 18-3 as part of a holistic solution.
The country that operates under the Istanbul Convention needs to adopt these four aspects:
Prevention
Protection of the injured
Prosecution and punishment
Synchronization and cooperation between the state mechanisms and systems
One of the main conclusions derived from the information gathered and examined is that accession to the Convention is a lever to launch projects to reduce the existing gaps in that country to prevent domestic violence and the treatment of victims.
For example, in the countries of Denmark and Estonia
Joining the Istanbul Convention led to a dramatic budget increase and the development of government and community programs. These programs aim for prevention education, as well as social and healthcare projects.
In most of the socialist states of Europe, there are ministerial offices dedicated to dealing with violence against women, children, and domestic violence. A clear example of this is Germany and its large number of local programs organized throughout the state and collaborations with associations and non-profit organizations. Each organization has a unique specialty.
Developing plans to eradicate domestic violence is a growing market, also in terms of budget and innovation. Innovation is less in technologies than in types of activities and support. There is also an increase in training professionals and multidisciplinary integrations. Fighting against domestic violence has become a broad ecosystem that is evolving, and still growing worldwide, at least in Europe.
States' work plans include and address all these organizations and are budgeted. Most countries have a plan for several years ahead and even plans for 2030, looking ahead for another ten years. Most UN plans refer to 2025-2020, looking ahead at least for another five years. In the State of Israel exists a 5-year plan to implement until 2022.
It is worth emphasizing that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an expansion of budgets and activities related to the fight against domestic violence and against harming women and children up to the age of 18.
The Istanbul Convention - Background and general information
The Istanbul Convention - is a treaty dealing with the prevention and fight the violence against women. The initiative came from The Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence. The Council of Ministers of the Council of Europe ratified the Convention in April 2011 and opened it for signature in April that same year, in Istanbul, Turkey, hence its name.
The Convention consists of four main chapters: prevention, protection, prosecution, and integrated policy. In doing so, it defines violence against women and domestic violence; Determines mandatory legal standards for the prevention of violence against women and domestic violence for the protection of victims, punishes the offenders, and calls for their implementation. It also emphasizes cooperating with civic organizations and working with media and the private sector to eradicate gender stereotypes and promote mutual respect.
In addition, there is a national action plan for the implementation of Resolution 1325 of the UN Council in more than 70 countries, which includes a reference to the treatment of violence against women.
As of November 2020, 45 countries are signatories to the Convention, of which 34 ratified it in their Legislature.
Since the 1990's the Council of Europe has taken a series of initiatives to protect women from gender-based violence and domestic violence. A series of reports, studies, and reviews have revealed the intensity of the problem in Europe.
Monitoring
GREVIO - holds the responsibility for monitoring and inspecting the implementation of the convention standards in the countries that have signed the Convention. It consists of an independent committee of experts that monitors and oversees the progress of operations made in all signatory states to the Convention and submits up-to-date reports.[3]
The Istanbul Convention and COVID-19 Pandemic
How did the Istanbul Convention guide countries' activities in fighting the violence against women during the Corona plague?
Entering the second year of the coronavirus pandemic, the Council of Europe notes that this year's International Women's Day recognized that since the outbreak, there were reports of a dramatic increase in violence against women and families in Europe. Policies of isolation and incarceration have led to increasing levels of violence against women, domestic violence, sexual violence, and gender-based violence. Thus, increase in the victims' need for protection.
The economic consequences of the pandemic, such as job loss or income, create or aggravate the economic dependence of women and reduce their ability to leave their violent husbands.
The Council of Europe noted that many countries are working on developing innovative approaches to protecting human rights. The coronavirus pandemic led to many economic pressures and social isolation that led to new struggles within families. Due to this background, cases of domestic violence in all countries have soared by almost 20%.
How does the United Nations measure the extent of violence against women?
UN WOMEN - United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Women Empowerment.
The fight against violence against women is one of the issues addressed by the UN. The UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (A/RES/48/104) gave an initial framework. The Beijing Declaration, like other statements and decisions, indicates more steps in the prevention and treatment of the issue.
One of the most comprehensive studies held by the UN in 2006 dealt with violence against women. It includes systematically gathering information from countries and non-state representatives, holding expert thinking groups, etc.
One of the thinking groups tried to define international indicators by which the UN could measure the volume of violence against women. The challenge was to form a list of indicators that would measure violence against women and be acceptable to most international participants. The understanding was that this was an initial list of indices that needed to expand due to more research and consensus on the issue.
The following are the defined indices:
Physical violence
Sexual violence
Violence on the part of a spouse
Causing pain for women (such as premature marriage and more)
A current UN action plan in conjunction with the World Health Organization (2018-2022) expands the measurement of violence against women. It includes psychological spouse violence, violence against older women, and violence against women with disabilities
A framework developed in cooperation between the UN and the World Health Organization on the subject - Principles for developing a national prevention plan on violence against women 2019 - RESPECT.
Despite many efforts made over the years, violence against women and girls continues. Eliminating violence against women will lead to gender equality, female empowerment, and achieving long-term stability goals in society. The first step in the elimination of violence is through prevention programs. Successful prevention requires political commitment and leadership. It also calls for adopting laws and policies that promote equality, investment in women's organizations, and prevention programs while treating discrimination against women at the day-to-day level.
Based on the principles of Respect, Equality, Lessons learned, and Insights derived from successful prevention programs, the United Nations Women's Organization, together with the World Health Organization (WHO), and in collaboration with other international organizations, formed a master plan. It includes seven types of prevention programs in a framework called: RESPECT Women: Preventing violence against women.
The goal is to provide decision-makers and policymakers with an applied framework for designing, implementing, supervising, and evaluating intervention programs and preventing violence against women.
The word RESPECT is also used as an acronym for the seven intervention programs.
The bottom line is that eliminating violence against women begins with respecting women within a collective action starting today.
The main intervention programs that appear in the working framework:
For starters, one must recognize the facts related to violence against women and girls. The UN report indicates that about 30% of women in the world have experienced violence before. It also shows that girls from minorities, women with disabilities, and at-risk groups are more likely to experience violence than anyone else. (Additional data detailed in the document).
We also need to address risk and the protection of women before we plan an intervention plan. Risk and protection factors are divided into four elements: social, community, interpersonal, and individual.
For example, risk factors in the social element - one can find, among other things, a low employment level of women. In the community element - one can notice the availability of drugs, alcohol, and weapons. In the interpersonal element - drug use by men and unhealthy alcohol consumption are considered risk factors, and in the individual section - one might notice a mental disorder.
We can notice protective factors in the social element - laws that promote gender equality. In the community element - norms that encourage non-violence. In the interpersonal section - one can notice equal household management. In the individual element - lack of exposure to domestic violence.
The next step in planning is selecting the type of intervention program (or all) and assuring their implementation.
What are the seven intervention programs proposed for development and implementation?
Relationship skills strengthened - referring to strategies aimed at individuals or groups of women, men, or couples to improve their interpersonal communication skills, conflict management, and shared decision-making.
Empowerment of women - referring to economic and social empowerment. It includes inheritance rights, property ownership, financial training, self-esteem skills, assertiveness, negotiation skills, and more.
Services ensured - Aim for women affected by violence to have effective supportive services such as police, law, health, and other social services.
Poverty reduction - refers to strategies aimed at women and households to get out of poverty through loans, savings, and participation in the labor market.
Environments made safe - aimed at developing safe schools, public areas, and safe work environments (for women).
Child and adolescent abuse prevented - referring to forming a supportive family environment, enforcing punishment, and implementing plans for parents.
Transformed attitudes, beliefs, and norms - referring to strategies that challenge biased beliefs and gender norms. Stereotypes such as male superiority and female inferiority justify violence and impeccable treatment of victims. Implementation through public campaigns and educating groups to develop social leadership.
The next step in planning is keeping the plan relevant. It involves a retrospective analysis of each of the seven programs regarding its success or failure. Thus, evaluating success and failure is based on previous experience in the country or previous experience elsewhere.
For example, look at the Women Empowerment Program. One can list all the actions taken and a reference to their success/failure.
Another example is seen in the following picture. Notice that in policy development regarding inheritance and property ownership by women, there is not enough evidence for success in developed countries. We might notice a positive change in the developing and the poorest countries.
The evaluation of the programs is expressed in the following symbols:
Here is another example regarding the program of change of perception. One can notice the failure of activities aimed at awareness and communication development campaigns. It failed because it did not consider a broad context or a continuous manner. It is relevant to develop and developing countries.
The next step in planning the program framework is to formulate a theory that begins with implementing the intervention plans and ends with the impact of the results on the environment. An example given in the paper illustrates a possible approach to that: We assume that intervention programs aimed at nurturing and supporting, create knowledge and information sources to encourage communities to find solutions for women dealing with violence, families affected by violence, and communities with high levels of violence (initially mapped). The theory should address barriers such as the limited autonomy of women, social norms that perpetuate the power of men, inadequate services, and more.
The flow of the theory presents dynamics that begin with the direct outputs of the program, such as an increase in awareness of violence against women as a preventable public health problem. Outputs bring results. For example, women can make decisions independently. Results bring consequences. That might be peaceful interpersonal conflict resolution, reduction, or elimination of violence against women, and more.
The principles we need to apply in adopting the program framework:
Put the safety of women first - maintain privacy and anticipate unwanted consequences that may occur.
Promoting gender equality and the rights of women - make sure that at the center of every program is the treatment of gender inequality and male supremacy.
Include everyone - consider all forms of discrimination against women based on gender, class, race, origin, disability, sexual orientation, and sexual identity – all are included in the programs.
Formulation of a change theory - think about how the implementation of the plans will lead to changes and long-term consequences.
Assure documentation and control to know what works and what fails and create a collaborative knowledge base about the programs.
Community approach - encourage people to participate in think tanks and planning, relying on their abilities and skills.
Promote coordination - support collaboration and partnerships. Invite sectors and organizations at the local and national levels.
Implementation of integrated intervention programs - applying the programs to individuals, families, and communities to reach all risk factors and all types of violence.
Reference to the therapeutic sequence - address prevention and response in the same context.
Lifelong Plans - Apply for programs with adolescents and young children to intervene at the earliest stage.
How to strengthen the support of the environment in the plans:
Creating a political commitment of leaders and policymakers by asking them to speak out against domestic violence.
Development, sharing, and reliance on the support of the women's organizations.
Promoting laws and policies that address violence against women and in favor of gender equality.
Providing adequate resources for programs, studies, and institutions dealing with health, enforcement, and social services for battered women.
Promoting programs that have already been proven successful gets reinforced:
Based on recent pilot programs and customary practices, we need to examine what succeeded and then think about widening it, such as applying to another geographic area, applying to another community, etc. Analyze in-depth programs that are not clear whether successful or prone to failure.
Working closely with national programs that deal with the subject.
Adherence to the basic principles of gender equality, rights, and security while adapting to environmental constraints such as culture, and language.
An integrated approach to individual, interpersonal, community, and social treatment strategies and programs to create long-term consequences.
Invest in increasing the capabilities of those implementing the plans and providing them sufficient time to reach results and change.
Constantly promote new initiatives to embed into existing programs regarding healthcare, development, and other sectors.
The planning process should be in the long-term vision while ensuring costs that will suffice throughout the plan.
Start small, document, and evaluate each step, and gradually expand the activity. Create innovation by strengthening the successful results of the program.
Support the developers and implementors of the program. Promote, as well, learning and knowledge-sharing processes.
How to monitor, evaluate, and measure the process:
In the long run - we will measure the impact of prevention programs in reducing the various manifestations of violence against women.
At the global level, a progress report required countries to submit on preventing violence against women under the Global SDG targets program.
The report must address two elements:
the scale of incidence of injury in women over 15, among spouses in the last 12 months.
The proportion of women and young men aged 18-29 who have experienced sexual violence under 18.
In the short term and the medium term, we take into consideration more measures offered for examination:
Norms towards gender equality
Communication between partners
Independence and self-esteem of women
Education of women and girls
The change theory must show how programs will improve short-to-medium-term outcomes and how this will lead to long-term results in reducing the incidence of violence.
It is essential to carefully evaluate the results of programs before deciding to expand them. It is advisable to monitor the expansion process to ensure investing only in the right programs. Those are the programs that work. We also need to consider the mismanaged or harmful results of programs and adapt to the environmental context in which the program operates.
To recap the UN initiative, let us remember that we presented seven possible intervention plan types to adopt and implement. So far, this review has addressed the design and implementation principles of the plans. However, the framework sets out each one in detail. Further details of each program are relevant to further research if requested (links to all program.)
As an example of a detailed program, let us look for a moment at the poverty reduction program.
It begins with a defined rationale, describing the correlation between poverty and families in need and violence by the spouse.
The next step in the process is mapping risk factors.
For example, the following table shows that the risk factors are economic insecurity on the individual level. That affects men and women and results in stress. The stress caused by poverty conditions leads to incorrect coping, and it affects men and women, causing low self-esteem and low image that mainly affects women.
The next step is to formulate a theory of change that will address the specific topic. After that comes the stage of following programs and practices that have succeeded or failed.
For example, the following example shows that money transfers and food vouchers for families regularly, or as a condition for certain family activities, have led to success in reducing poverty in developing countries. Also, there is insufficient data on success in developed countries.
Each program also includes recommended approaches and directions for its implementation at different reference levels.
As mentioned, in each of the seven intervention programs, there is a detailed document.
The state of Denmark
Psychological violence in the family and, in general, is gaining strong emphasis in Denmark. It is more common than physical violence, and its consequences are like those of physical violence. Thus, the state action plan includes all types of violence, both physical and psychological.
In Denmark, the intention is to put both types of violence in a constitutional framework and a similar punishment.
The concept behind the action plan is that the most appropriate treatment for violence is prevention. Therefore, any action plan should aim at the public, especially addressing young men and women with clear messages that this is a violation of human rights, and that all physical and psychological violence is a crime.
Another goal of the action plan is to develop frameworks for assistance and support for victims of physical and psychological violence in the family. Not only in shelters and isolated settings, but within the framework of routine life, at home, at work, and in the casual circle of acquaintances.
The scale of the violence in Denmark is large despite all efforts, so the action plan also focuses on developing frameworks for dealing with abusers and harassers. There is an understanding that violence between spouses begins at a young age, where the boundaries are often unclear, and continues into adult marital life. The program is aimed primarily at the younger stratum.
Funding for the action plan comes from the 2019-2022 health budget agreement and with the full backing of the authorities and government officials. The action plan comes as an addition to the state's legal, healthcare, and welfare services.
Three Danish ministers signed the action plan:
Minister for Equal Opportunities, Eva Kjer Hansen
Minister for Justice, Søren Pape Poulsen
Minister for Children and Social Affairs, Mai Mercado
The rate of domestic, physical, and psychological violence in Denmark is high. About 38,000 women and 19,000 men are victims of domestic violence each year. About 84,000 people are victims of surveillance and harassment, and in a quarter of cases, it is an injury by the current or former spouse. Most of the victims are women, although the number of men injured has been rising since 2005.
The adoption of the Istanbul Convention in Denmark took place in 2014. Denmark established a committee responsible for coordinating, implementing, controlling, and evaluating policies and indicators to fight and prevent violence against women.
The inter-ministerial committee is responsible for coordination, while each ministry is individually responsible for implementation, control, and evaluation in its area of responsibility.
Denmark's efforts to prevent and treat domestic violence are broad and include many legal, health, and welfare programs. The new program is only an addition to the state efforts on a regular and continuous basis.
Here are some of the key factors related to the state's regular activity, in addition to the periodic plans such as the new plan detailed here:
Local authorities are required, by law, to provide shelter for battered women for any complaint of violence and harassment. The same is true for men who suffer from trauma and violence and cannot stay in homes, provide them with temporary accommodation. There is a special obligation to assist children under 18 who need assistance and support in violent incidents, neglect, etc. In any suspicion of a child or young person being exploited, the authorities must investigate the case and respond accordingly.
Children's Homes - Børnehusene (Children's Homes) - Established in 2013 in collaboration with the authorities, the police, and the health services to ensure the safety of children who are feared to be victims and allow them to be medically tested and be in a safe environment.
The National Board of Social Services' Knowledge Center for Social Measures Against Violence and sexual abuse in Denmark (SISO) - is a state institute that gets a budget of 10 million Dk each year and aims to assist authorities in informing and transferring knowledge regarding domestic violence against children and women. It also deals with the execution of consultation plans and accompaniment of the authorities' activities as needed.
Women's Shelters - In 2018, there were 53 shelters in Denmark spread across 39 counties. Women victims of any violence can come to the shelters, with children, in open or anonymous identities, and receive counseling, assistance, and support.
Men Shelters - There are six such shelters for men in crisis, not only due to violence. They provide temporary housing, counseling, and support.
Support centers - for victims of conflicts in the context of RED. Counseling and providing temporary accommodation for those persecuted in the context of RED Safehouse conflicts. There are two such centers in Denmark.
Teachers and teaching staff - play a crucial role in information, detection, and prevention.
Medical experts - In addition to the treatment of victims of violence, there are nine special centers in Denmark treating rape victims.
The Danish National Police - the police receive special training in dealing with complaints of violence, casualties, and victims. The police also established a new central function responsible for prevention and guiding all police stations regarding policies and procedures related to the prevention and treatment of domestic violence against women.
Local police in the districts - responsible for enforcement. Collaborate with women's organizations in the development of prevention and enforcement programs.
The Attorney General - is responsible for the legal side of the incidents of violence. The Attorney General issues instructions to the prosecution offices in the districts and the police regarding handling domestic violence cases.
Previous action plans in Denmark have existed since 2002. Danish society does not accept violence. Thus, government ministries take constant measures to address the issue. All action plans since 2002 have contributed to the development of new initiatives and methods for dealing with marital violence and the creation of an extensive knowledge database on the subject. All plans gain the support of government ministries and will be budgeted accordingly.
Responsibility for implementing the programs rests with an inter-ministerial committee on the prevention of violence against women and spouses. The committee's activities are based on information from experts and civil rights organizations to develop relevant knowledge. The programs ensure funding for many non-governmental organizations' activities. They are also involved in the development and implementation of the programs.
The current program consists of 18 new initiatives, 10 of which involve the health organization and are fully funded by the health budget. The intention is to invest 101 million Dk for the period 2019-2022. The program includes the development of counseling and support frameworks, support for men and victims of violence, support for online harassment, and the formulation of solutions for the protection of victims even without them getting out of the home. In addition, the program addresses the perpetrators themselves to advise them and improve their behavior to break the cycle of violence.
The target audience of the new program is both men and women. It is a known fact that men respond differently from women to domestic violence and marital violence, and their needs are different from those of women. Thus, each gender requires unique treatments and counseling.
The action vectors in the new plan (as stated 18 initiatives) revolve around three main axes:
Identifying psychological violence and preventing domestic violence.
Assistance and protection programs combined with counseling and support.
Development of knowledge and information
New initiatives - Identifying psychological violence and preventing domestic violence:
Adjusting the law so that psychological violence would be considered a crime.
Formulation of guidelines for the police and the prosecution on how to deal with cases of psychological violence.
Prohibition on using unauthorized tracking apps on people.
Explaining to the staff at the women's shelters how to avoid digital surveillance.
A public information campaign on psychological violence.
A campaign aimed at children and young people regarding psychological violence and domestic violence "Stronger together" (Stronger together).
Conducting an artistic competition for young people about preventing domestic violence.
New initiatives - Assistance and protection programs combined with counseling and support:
Increasing the counseling and support frameworks for women and men victims of psychological violence.
Mødrehjælpen (Help for mothers). Improving the services of shelters for women affected by physical violence.
Increasing the support frameworks for men in crisis in the men's shelters.
Improving the conditions of counseling for abusers and families living with violence.
Pilot counseling and group therapy programs for young people affected by violence.
Counseling for children and young people on online harassment and exploitation 'DeleteIt' (DeleteIt).
Supporting and counseling people who get followed, and the followers as well.
Reflecting and sharing data related to women and men who have experienced violence.
Reflecting and sharing the results of programs aimed at treating men who have experienced violence - should they be continued in the future?
New initiatives - knowledge development and information:
Conducting a national survey to estimate the extent of physical and psychological violence among spouses in Denmark.
Documenting the level of closeness between the offenders and the victims in the police documents.
(Note: For each initiative that appears in the program, there are additional details that can be deepened if required).
The Commonwealth of Australia, The State of Victoria
Violence Prevention Program for Women in Victoria, Australia. Action to prevent violence against women.
In the state of Victoria in Australia, there are nine prevention programs scattered in the various counties of the country. Each of the regional programs is coordinated by the Women's Health Service. Gender Equity Victoria (GEN VIC), a leading body in the state of Victoria on gender equality, women's health, and violence against women, runs the website.
In the following map, you can get an impression of the geographic deployment of the programs throughout the state of Victoria:
The main programs and activities for the prevention of violence against women:
Each district in the state formulates the appropriate program within its communities to prevent violence against women. Finally, formulating a regional strategic plan as a regional strategy or action plan that includes a wide range of activities in the community. All the regional plans developed by the Women's Health Services combined into one. This major plan must be implemented and evaluated.
Every year there is a 16-day UN-sponsored campaign. The campaign starts on November 25, which is the International Day for Eliminating Violence against Women, and ends on December 10, which is the International Day for Human Rights. During this term, the community initiates many activities to attract public attention. It also aimed to attract the attention of community leaders and government officials on the issue. Many communities participate in the march usually held on the first day of the campaign.
In addition to this campaign, there are campaigns throughout the year, supported by regional and governmental programs. The activities usually are focused on certain types of violence and may be targeted at places such as schools.
Gender equality training packages - activities that are usually performed free of charge to various audiences.
Counseling and guidance packages for organizations and businesses that decide to adopt prevention and gender equality processes.
Diverse information materials (writing, voice, video, and online) - a lot of activity of the women's health services regarding the formulation of materials relevant to information and illustration of the main ideas, some aimed at the level of the whole country and some at a particular topic or community.
Networks of Knowledge-Sharing Communities - existing knowledge-sharing communities in which participants deal with the prevention of violence against women and share knowledge about proven programs and methods. There is a big community, at a state level, in which 12 representatives of the districts of women's health services participate, and they meet every quarter. In addition, at the district level, there are local communities in which representatives of organizations engaged in the prevention of violence against women participate.
One can find much more information on each of the nine regional prevention programs in the country. There are details like who leads it and who funds it. Also, if there are action plans and regional partnerships, a detailed PDF is attached. If the region has conducted any campaigns for public explanation and exposure, there is an explanation for the activity. (Note: a breakdown of all regional plans is possible, but it requires further research work).
To understand the sense of things, here is an example. The Eastern Metropolitan Melbourne Regional Plan includes seven localities.
The program is led by a regional agency called - Women’s Health East, which operates in the West Melbourne area. The agency works with stakeholders in the area to make sure there are adequate services for women, addressing social, political, and environmental issues that affect the health and safety of women in the area.
The region action plan is called Together for Equality & Respect: A Strategy to Prevent Violence Against Women in Melbourne East 2017-2021 or TFER for short.
The program aims to create a society where women live freely without violence by men, as every boy and girl grows equitably and gains respect and equality of opportunity. The program aims to enable organizations in the region to work collaboratively and in the right priorities to prevent male violence against women ahead of time.
The program defines three core values obligatory for all partners in its implementation. Everyone must agree on these values: sharing, courage, fairness, and equality.
For example, in the following image, notice the value of sharing. The partners agree that everyone will share information about works, resources, evaluation, and learning products for all the outcomes and implications of the program.
The actions the partners will take to realize the value: ensure that the program is reflected in all organizational programs, commit to allocating resources, contribute to the implementation, share knowledge about program evaluation, participate in implementation, and share the communication program.
The plan has four strategic directions. For each strategic direction, there were goals set. There are focal points and the expected results from the activity for each of the goals.
For example, the following table shows that for the strategic direction of leading and achieving change, the goal has been set for organizations to lead initiatives that will work together with the community to enable and create respectful and egalitarian relationships.
The focal points set for this purpose are working together with the West Melbourne community in all aspects and working with different groups within the community.
The expected results are that the citizens of West Melbourne will appreciate and work for gender equality, followed by all groups within the West Melbourne community being involved in preventing violence against women and achieving equality.
For each strategic direction, goal, and focal point, there is a detailed definition and a full specification that explains the need. It also has a document describing the action and who is responsible for its execution.
For example, in the following table, concerning lead and achieve change, there are details of the tasks in the mentioned focal area, and the focus is on working together with the West Melbourne community.
The following table shows the activity aimed at educational and supervision institutions for young people. Notice the iMatter program for schools. It is under the responsibility of the Doncare organization, which is one of the partners in the comprehensive program.
For each strategic direction, the plan offers principles for implementation based on the known needs of the community and gives recommendations derived from lessons learned from the previous (2013-2017) plans.
For example, it is advisory to support all projects with continuous documented reports.
Summary
This report gives an international review of the signatories to the Istanbul Convention to prevent violence against women, children aged 18-3, and domestic violence. It shows that most countries have formed implementation plans for the coming years (and there are even countries whose plans cover the year 2030.)
The programs include prevention, treatment, support, and assistance to victims of violence. Undoubtedly, in all countries, the foundations have been laid for dealing with the very comprehensive problems called - domestic violence, and violence against women and children. To execute at the government level and in collaboration with social organizations specializing in these fields.
In most countries, there is an institutional governmental response to the issue. However, there is no uniformity at the level of plans, in-depth treatment, or speed of response. It seems like the trend in most countries is to produce integration, by the state, into all intervention programs and expand their application in the education system as well. The requirement to include the activity, information accumulating and sharing data, and the large-scale training for professionals from various disciplines exists in most countries.
Our insight is that the countries that acceded to the Istanbul Convention have made prior measures, preparing for the ratification. Thus, after the signing, their capabilities of control and implementation are more successful than excluded countries.
In the ratifying countries, we often find a dedicated ministry office to operate and centralize the information from several government ministries dealing with victims of violence.
In addition, these countries have succeeded in expanding budgets and setting up more shelters spread across countries (including men's homes).
In most countries, legislation has widely expanded around domestic violence. Create new policies and an expansion of budgets.
Another insight derived from the review concerns the need for an inclusion plan. This plan relates to all state activities, the authorities, the localities, and organizations involved in the fight against violence.
Inclusion includes gathering information and sharing best practice implementation to assure the continuity of the resources invested in the activity. The gathering and sharing of data and knowledge lead to a more optimal way of policy and program implementation.
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