Project coordinators Belgian-European project

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Daniël Bollen Dries Wyckmans

• Project coordinators Belgian- European
  project An inter- and multidisciplinary
  approach of tackling domestic violence

Picture
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Domestic ViolenceTackled in Partnership
A comprehensive regional approach in the
Province of Limburg
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Province of Limburg

1. Texte

• Limburg
• Belgian Province
• in Flanders
• between Antwerp, Liège and Maastricht
• 820.000 inhabitants
• capital Hasselt

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Immediate cause for the project

• Increase of offences of domestic violence
• Serious incidents and family tragedies
• 14 of police reports domestic violence

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Provincial project domestic violence

• Set up end of 2004
• Priority on the agenda
• Police, justice and assistance
• Way of acting more effective and efficient
• In a preventive, curative and repressive manner

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Partnership

• Between police, justice and assistance -gt
  Sectors that normally dont work so closely
  together !

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Partnership

• Written scenario
• simple and transparent working process
• a standard record form
• a referring form

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Standard record form
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Referring form
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A solution without violence

• Police (is trained to) call in assistance fast
• Need for sufficient accommodation facilities
• Project Relief points domestic violence-gt
  September 2006

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Relief points domestic violence

• For individuals and couples confronted with
  partner violence
• Relief point
• approaching assistance techniques
• demand, information and advice
• immediate psychosocial (crisis) assistance -gt
  time-out method
• referred to further counselling or therapy

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Relief points domestic violence

• Relief in different steps
• police intervenes
• police faxes a referring form signed by the
  persons involved
• social workers contact them within 5 working days
  and invite them
• police is informed afterwards, and sends complete
  record to public prosecutor

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Partnership schematic presentation
serious assault or children in danger
criminal offence or family quarrel
proposal counselling
couple doesnt agree
couple agrees
broken off
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Justice

• Prosecution policy aimed at an alternative
  settlement
• Guide the partners to a solution without violence
• When unsuccessful or when problems are too
  serious, prosecution is considered

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Results evaluation relief points

• Anually /- 1200 clients referred to relief
  points
• couples 54
• ex-couples 27
• individuals 19

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Results evaluation relief points

• Reported types of violence
• combination physical - psychological violence 49
  
• psychological violence / threats 8
• physical violence 6
• non-compliance with the right of acces 5
• stalking 3
• sexual violence 1
• domestic quarrel 1
• elder abuse 1
• unknown 26

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Results evaluation relief points

• Of the /- 1200 clients that are referred
• 57 complies with assistance
• 43 doesnt comply with assistance (refusal,
  language problem, )

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Results evaluation relief points

• Of the 57 that complied with assistance
• 41 was assisted with oriented referring
• 14 was assisted -gt completed or ungoing
• 32 has started the assistance but has pulled
  out
• 13 wasnt reached or still had to be contacted

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Prevention sensitization

• 9 target groups

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Prevention program example

• Target group pregnancy young parenthood
• 3 to 8 victim during pregnancy
• brochure with practical advice for young parents
• concrete handles for health professionals
  referral slip and training

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Prevention program example

• Target group separating couples
• fight the number of ugly divorces
• promotion of mediation
• practical guide on the subtleties of the
  elaboration of a conflict avoiding residence and
  visiting arrangement

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Major strenghts of the Limburg approach

• Domestic violence is taken very seriously
• A far-reaching intersectoral collaboration
• A lot more police reports ( 300 in comparison
  with 2000) mostly due to sensitization of police
  officers victims
• Emphasis on a curative approach prevention
• Less escalation, less recidivism

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Needs for improvement

• Long-term and intensive case management of the
  family system
• More cooperation with mental healthcare
  (personality disorders)
• Approaching migrants (preventive, curative)
• Prevention of intergenerational transmission
• Legislation temporary barring order?

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European project

• European Commission action grant Prevention of
  and fight against crime 2009
• goal development of European scenario and
  training programme, according to the optimization
  of the inter- and multidisciplinary approach of
  domestic violence in different European Member
  States
• European training seminar in September 2012

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European project

• Development entry plan, scenario, website and
  training programme through
• scientific research and evaluation
• exchange of work experiences and best practices
  with international project partners -gt Hungary,
  The Netherlands, Spain and Sweden

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European project

• Development innovative working methods
• prevention program for young people -gt
  relationship knowledge and skills (based on
  Canadian Fourth R program)
• optimization of relief points domestic violence
  within general welfare
• perpetrator therapy

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Conclusion

• An inter- an multidisciplinary approach on a
  regional level can be most effective in tackling
  domestic violence!

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Please do contact us for more information!

• limburg.be/domesticviolence
• domesticviolence_at_limburg.be
• Daniël BollenT 0032 11 30 57 43
• Dries WyckmansT 0032 11 23 80 46