New perspectives on preventing men’s violence against women

A high-level meeting within the framework of the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the European Union will be held on 27–28 February, with the focus on gender equality and efforts to combat men’s violence against women. At the meeting, several innovative and award-winning methods will be presented with regard to countering and preventing men’s violence against women.

The aim of the meeting is to create space for discussion and exchanges of experience within this area. The first day will focus on gender mainstreaming in the budgetary process and is expected to provide a basis for Council conclusions. The second day will focus on practical examples of how to prevent and combat men’s violence against women. This includes how to detect intimate partner violence among new parents and jobseekers, methods on how to prevent honour-related violence and oppression and examples of how social services are working to combat intimate partner violence.

The Swedish Police will talk about the systematic method of Risk Reduction Intervention (RRI), which is designed to make suspected perpetrators stop using threats and violence against protected persons. RRI won the 2022 European Crime Prevention Award. The national helpline for violent perpetrators, Välj att sluta (Choose to stop), will also be presented, along with the latest treatment methods being used by the Swedish Prison and Probation Service to combat domestic violence.

The meeting will also discuss the Swedish strategy to combat men’s violence against women. Launched in 2017, this ten-year strategy will run until 2026.

Among the attendees will be ministers and state secretaries: Swedish Minister for Gender Equality and Deputy Minister for Employment Paulina Brandberg, Isabelle Lonvis-Rome from France, Irene Montero from Spain, Zuzana Freitas Lopesova from Czechia, Sarah Schlitz from Belgium and Balázs Hankó from Hungary.