Programme: "Domestic and gender-based violence"
Duration of the project: 04/2024
Project grant: Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2014-2021 in the amount of 579 315 € and the state budget of the Slovak Republic in the amount of 90 000 €.
The main objective of the project: Ensuring the continuation and development of the functioning of the safe women's home and counseling center, administered by the non-profit organization LUNA, in the regional city of Trenčín. The problem of the functioning of both organisational components is their economic security, as I mentioned above. The common denominator is the prioritisation of other areas, the frequently changing legislation in the socio-legal field and the consequent changes in the organisation, functioning and/or financing of crisis facilities.
Project Intent: To increase the quality, professionalism and effectiveness of services provided for victims of domestic and gender-based violence by providing comprehensive assistance and support based on their needs. The provision of comprehensive support and assistance includes specialised social, legal, psychological and special-educational counselling, assistance in matters of safe housing, health and finances, employment and independence.
Target group of the project are victims of violence - women and their children who experience any form of violence - physical, psychological, economic, sexual, social, which reduces their quality of life and causes them traumatic experiences depriving them of their human rights to a dignified, safe and healthy life.
Currently, despite existing declarations, standards and conventions, the situation in the field of gender-based violence is unsatisfactory. Many victims of partner violence are unable to address their situation due to problems in securing the basic necessities of life (housing, finances, etc.). The project will ensure the availability of services to address the acute crisis life situation of the target group, also taking into account children who often witness partner violence, which seriously damages their mental and personal development. We also consider the target group to be disadvantaged citizens in terms of disability, belonging to minorities, and other limitations in accessing the labour market, whose disadvantages make it difficult to deal with a crisis situation such as domestic violence. Another target group is the general public, which will be informed about the issue of domestic and gender-based violence, forms of assistance, the existence and necessity of the functioning of the BJV within the framework of the project implementation. Within the framework of dissemination of education and information we plan to appeal to the representatives of towns and municipalities in order to provide sufficient information on this issue for more effective cooperation.
Project activities: The main activities of the project include qualified staffing of the BJD and PC, training of the professional team, construction of a therapeutic garden, publicity and dissemination of awareness.
The project is primarily aimed at ensuring qualified staffing of the non-profit organisation LUNA in accordance with the accreditations, for the duration of the project, i.e. 24 months. The aim of this part of the project is to ensure the provision of specialized social, legal, psychological and special-educational counselling in the Women's Safe House, as well as social and psychological counselling within the Counselling Centre - in an outpatient, distance or field form.
Ensuring qualified staff includes training them in the field with a focus on victims of violence. Quality and systemic training is an essential part of comprehensive service provision for victims at risk of violence. For LUNA, this training focusing on Psychosocial Support for staff working with victims of violence will be covered by the non-profit organisation Blue Angel for 120 hours. The content of the individual topics will include stress management, crisis intervention, stabilisation techniques and self-protective safety measures, also in relation to female beneficiaries, basics of trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder.
In addition to salary expenses, the construction of a therapeutic garden is a significant part of the budget . Through the therapeutic garden - a safe space in the exterior of the BŽD in the form of a garden with a garden house, we plan to create a basis for various forms of therapy for the mother-child bond. A woman's ability to be a parent is often diminished as a result of surviving domestic violence; the experience of violence can erode a mother's self-esteem and confidence to be a parent. In the reconstruction of the mother-child relationship, it is important to offer women new models of functioning in the parent-child relationship. The construction of an outdoor space with a therapeutic intention stems from the needs of women and their children, focusing on the active leisure time of mothers and their children in a safe environment of the premises. Spending time in a natural environment may not always be safe for them as victims of domestic violence. By building this therapeutic garden, we plan to improve the environment, the quality of which is an essential part of the holistic support process.
We consider the project's objective to be equally important publicity and dissemination of education in the context of gender-based violence and domestic violence. Publicity will be provided through the website, campaigns, conferences, press materials, presentations at schools and to the general public, social media and podcasts.
Within the framework of the project we will implement 3 campaigns to raise awareness about domestic and gender-based violence in our region. For each topic within the campaign we will also organize educational activities in schools within the region. We will collaborate with project partners on the campaigns.
In the first campaign, we would like to focus on raising awareness of boys and men, not only as potential perpetrators, but also as members of society who have an important role to play in eliminating sexism and violence against women by men. At the same time, we see a growing need to focus on young people in general in terms of eliminating violent behaviour in intimate relationships, as well as eliminating gender stereotypes that encourage such behaviour.
The second campaign will focus on spreading knowledge about the availability of services in the Trenčín region. The campaign will primarily serve to present the Women's Safe House and our counselling centre. The target group will be the general public, primarily women and girls.
The answers to these questions "what is domestic violence, what manifestations does it include" we will try to bring to the general public again in the third campaign.
Project partners:
Trencin Self-Governing Region is responsible for the comprehensive development of the region and has a keen interest in making services available to women and their children at risk of violence. The entry of TSK as a partner in the project is an important condition for the implementation of the defined activities in order to achieve the project outputs and results. By partnering the regional government with service providers in the area, the activities will acquire a regional dimension and awareness will be spread more widely. The accommodation or services provided with the primary objective of enabling the mother and child to return to their natural environment will become more accessible to a larger target group of potential clients. As well as with ÚPSVaR, we have established cooperation with TSK for a longer period of time, since 2015 when they were our partner in the project.
Contact:
Mgr. Michaela Bierovská
+421 901 918 157
+421 32 6555 568
michaela.bierovska@tsk.sk
https://www.tsk.sk/
Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family Trenčín is directly subordinated to the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family of the Slovak Republic and can assist in the field of educational problems with children, in the divorce of parents, maps the situation and assists with problems related to abuse of a close and entrusted person, helps with foster care. By partnering with such an entity from the public administration, we will not only achieve the complexity of the services provided to the clients, but also the possibility to provide services to clients from other regions, at the same time we will be able to provide them with adequate counselling in connection with state social benefits and employment. The partner is a member of various working groups dealing with this issue in other countries and regions, and has an overview of how this issue is dealt with abroad. The partnership will help to extend the network of cooperating structures, not only to the project partners but also to the partners of the partner organisation. We have long-established cooperation with ÚPSVaR - since 2015 when they were our partner in the project. Hence, this is an existing partnership within a long-standing partnership team.
Contact:
Ing. Boris Ilkyw
+421 904 593 437
+421 32 2440 101
boris.ilkyw@upsvr.gov.sk
https://www.upsvr.gov.sk/
SWAN Mobile a.s. has the possibility to provide an easy-to-remember telephone number for the duration of the LUNA n.o. project. Safe women's home in Trencin. The entry of SWAN Mobile, a.s., as a partner of the project represents the facilitation of access to the crisis line, thanks to an easy to remember number, taking into account that in most situations it happens that the woman does not have too much time and has to remember the phone number quickly. Therefore, the choice of this type of number could have the impact of making it easier for women and children who are victims of domestic violence to 'call for help'. At the same time, this number will also be easy to remember for those who know either the woman or the child who is subjected to such violence and will therefore be more easily able to contact the NGO.
Contact:
Zuzana Jakúbková
+421 950 040 334
zuzana.jakubkova@swan.sk
https://www.swan.sk/
Project contract: 417/2022 | Central Contracts Register (gov.sk)
Invitation to tender
Annex 1 NPQ - Itemised budget
Annex 2 Plan + photo
Annex 3 Works contract
Invitation to tender
Annex 1 Proposal for fulfilling the criterion
Annex 2 Description of the subject of the contract
