Exchange of experience between EU Member States on gender-responsive budgeting and men’s violence against women

As holder of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Sweden held a high-level political meeting on gender equality on 27–28 February.

The aim of the meeting was to gather representatives from the Member States for strategic and forward-looking discussions and an exchange of experience on gender equality. An appreciated aspect of the meeting was the practical examples highlighting how Sweden works in various ways to prevent and combat men’s violence against women and so-called honour-based violence and oppression.

The first day was spent discussing gender mainstreaming in the budgetary process, also known as gender-responsive budgeting. The representatives of the Member States discussed how a gender perspective in budgetary work can contribute to more equal societies and promote to social and economic development, as well as the Union’s competitiveness. The representatives also shared how these efforts are carried out in their own countries, and which success factors and challenges they encountered.

Many of the representatives stressed that the national budget is a key instrument in steering towards gender equality, because the budget dictates which political priorities are realised and influence people’s lives. Childcare was mentioned as an example of an important gender equality investment that must be financed. One challenge in the work on gender equality that many of the participants brought up as an area in need of development is access to sex-disaggregated statistics.

Gender mainstreaming in EU budget critical to achieving gender equality goals

In her video address, the EU Commissioner with responsibility for gender equality, Helena Dalli, emphasised how gender mainstreaming in the EU budget is critical to achieving gender equality goals. Ms Dalli stressed that the EU budget is not gender neutral and that change is required for continued improvement within the Union. She concluded her video address by underscoring that gender equality can only be achieved through strong collaboration within the Union, and emphasised the importance of close collaboration between the Commission, the Parliament and the Member States to strengthen work on gender equality in the Union.

Good examples of preventing and combating men’s violence against women in focus on day two

The second day focused on how men’s violence against women can be prevented and avoided. Seven different government agencies and actors, many having been distinguished with awards for their work, presented how they contribute to preventing or combating men’s violence against women. The day was divided into three sessions: the first dealt with ways to better detect violence and stronger protection for women and children, the second concerned increasing and effective prevent initiatives against violence, and the third dealt with more effective law enforcement. Here is a brief description of each example within the sessions:

Ways to better detect violence and stronger protection for, and support of, women and children subjected to domestic violence

The Child Health Centre, Region Stockholm talked about their work in asking routine questions about domestic violence to all new parents. Staff will provide information about domestic violence and be attentive to any signs of violence. Region Stockholm’s child health unit was the winner of the regional Women’s Freedom Award in Stockholm 2021.

The domestic violence team in the City of Solna offers practical support and advice. For example, it can be about help with protected personal data, strengthening a security mindset both in everyday life and digitally, or help in getting out of the relationship. They can also offer counselling support.

Arbetsförmedlingen (the Swedish Public Employment Service) is asking job-seekers questions about domestic violence. They have also looked at how their routines can be improved to protect and support job-seekers who are exposed to threats. This development work was rewarded in 2022 with the national Swedish Gender Equality Prize.

Increased and effective preventive initiatives against violence

“Choose to stop” is a national confidential phoneline offering advice, information, and support to prevent domestic violence. It targets people who practice, or are at risk of practicing, domestic violence. Those who call the phoneline are referred to continued professional support, individually or in groups.

Shanazi hjältar (Proud Heroes) focus on young people who are trained to see and act against honour-related violence and oppression. The goal is to achieve a change of attitude as well as reducing violence in the longer term. Boys in the programme are 16 to 23 years old and give lectures at schools, leisure centers, and in other contexts where young people meet. They meet once a week for a whole year and the training mixes conversations, lectures, and study visits. When they graduate from the programme, they receive a diploma.

More effective law enforcement

Risk-reducing interventions (RRI) has been a national method used by the Swedish Police since 2021. Risk-reducing efforts involve trained interviewers carrying out a structured and 4 systematic conversations with people who are violent. The aim of the conversation is to get the violent person to change his behaviour and stop the reoccurrence of crime. When the method was used in a pilot project, violence stopped in 72 percent of the cases. The Swedish Police and RRI won the European Crime Prevention Award (ECPA) 2022.

The Swedish Prison and Probation Service presented various treatment programs offered in the Correctional Service’s prisons and probation. For example, Predov (Preventing Domestic Violence) is in line with the latest research on effective treatment methods for domestic violence. Virtual reality technology is used in the treatment to expose the client to different situations to become better at handling aggressive emotions.