In the framework of the European program “Daphne III: Sunia Geel, to prevent and combat violence against children, young people & women and to protect victims and groups at risk”, the Institute of Preventive Medicine, Environmental and Occupational Health, Prolepsis, organized two informative seminars regarding the phenomenon of domestic violence presenting also actions that have been developed and applied in Greece through the " Sunia Geel” Program. Social workers, psychologists and other related health professionals attended the seminars, which were held on the 23rd of February and 2nd of March 2012, at the premises of Prolepsis Institute.

 

The aim of the seminars was to further inform and increase awareness among social workers about domestic violence. During the events useful information in regards to domestic violence and the methods applied to combat the phenomenon were presented. Special emphasis was given to actions carried out during the first year of implementation of the “Sunia Geel” project in Greece.

 

Pania Karnaki, health promotion specialist, presented the program, its objectives and the actions already implemented, as well as those to be implemented in the future. It was stressed that the program aims not only to prevent and reduce the impact of domestic violence in marginalized communities but also to promote positive attitudes and behavior changes of members of these not-privileged communities.

 

The project manager, Dina Zota, psychologist and health promotion specialist, presented the most crucial elements from the analysis of the partner country reports on domestic violence. The analysis revealed several differences between the consortium countries in terms of the quantity and the level of provided services. Despite the differences found, there was a crucial common characteristic among all partner countries concerning the victims of domestic violence.  In all partner countries victims from marginalized groups include immigrants and minority groups, such as Muslim migrants, Roma and Irish Travellers.

 

The most important results from the needs assessment analysis were then presented. The research aimed to underline the needs of social workers concerning further training in the area of domestic violence. Based on the results of the research, in most countries social workers seem to have gained more, in terms of knowledge about victims of domestic violence, through their professional training and less through their academic studies. Moreover, they consider that there is need for additional training in particular concerning services for marginalized groups. The needs assessment also focused on the type of interventions that need to be developed and adopted for victims of domestic violence specifically from marginalized groups. Social workers across countries agree that interventions should aim at increasing awareness about the rights of victims, stressing also the fact that interventions should be multilingual and culturally diverse. 

 

In addition an overview was provided concerning domestic violence in Greece and Europe and how institutions, networks and supporting structures deal with the phenomenon. Nadia Dalma, sociologist and researcher in the “Sunia Geel” project presented relevant international conventions on violence against women analyzing the phenomenon within the European context and existing European policies.

 

The informative session was concluded with invited speaker, social worker and educator, Dr Konstantina Sklavou, who presented various definitions as well as the main theoretical approaches regarding domestic violence. Moreover, she gave useful advice to social workers on handling domestic violence cases with a special emphasis on service provision for victims.