EU sustains efforts against domestic violence

The European programme for action to combat all types of violence against women, children and young people is being expanded. Daphne phase III will have a budget of some 115 million euros over seven years under the European Parliament’s proposed funding plan. Among the new goals are: halving the number of victims, improving experience-sharing accessibility for more NGOs and including more countries outside Europe. “You’re right,” says one Belgian advert to a background of drowned-out screams: “One can’t put up with it”, followed by a national statistic which is the same Europe-wide: One in five women experiences violence by her intimate male partner.

Ninety-five percent of these acts take place within the home, according to the umbrella organisation European Women’s Lobby EWL. EWL says eight women die every month in the UK as a result of domestic violence. A campaign in Portugal encourages anyone who is abused to speak out, saying: “You are always in time to change your own story.”

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