Stepping up efforts to prevent and combat violence against Roma women and women from minority groups facing discrimination, marginalisation and exclusion

This project builds on the key results of the bilateral project “Working together for a Europe free from violence – ensuring Roma and Traveller women’s access to justice to assert their right to be free from violence”.

The main aim of this project is to improve intersectional approaches to understanding domestic violence, promoting the rights and needs of Roma women when addressing gender-based and domestic violence. Roma women and girls face multi-dimensional discrimination and intersectional challenges, they are often socially marginalised and frequently economically disadvantaged. More efforts are needed to prevent and combat violence against Roma women and women from minority groups facing discrimination, marginalisation and exclusion.

The project envisages several activities during the 5th European Conference on Domestic Violence, taking place on 11–13 September 2023 in Reykjavik, Iceland. The conference provides a good arena for making both projects visible to a broader European audience and for building sustainability.

Project activities:

 Participation in the 5th European Conference on Domestic Violence (ECDV): The project team participating in the 5th European Conference on Domestic Violence (ECDV), the largest European conference on this topic.

1. Workshop at the ECDV: The project team leading a dedicated workshop at the ECDV, involving interactive learning and the launch of the SYNERGY Manual on how to best consider and address the rights and needs of Roma women when responding to gender-based and domestic violence. The manual was developed under the previous bilateral initiative “Working together for a Europe free from violence – ensuring Roma women’s access to justice to assert their right to be free from violence.”
2. SYNERGY Network Meeting – The SYNERGY Network Meeting bringing together country representatives participating in the conference who work on programmes and projects supported by the EEA and Norway Grants to prevent and combat gender-based and domestic violence.
3. On-site visits: The project team conducting on-site visits to the Icelandic Police, the Family Justice Center – Iceland, and the Icelandic Human Rights Centre.

 The project “Stepping up efforts to prevent and combat violence against Roma women and women from minority groups facing discrimination, marginalisation and exclusion” is implemented with the financial support of the Norwegian Financial Mechanism.