10 Insights into Women’s Specialist Services’ Unique Approach to Gender-Based Violence Against Women
In light of March 8th, 2024, we proudly presented the Blueprint of Women’s Specialist Services (WSS) series, which shines a light on the unique, feminist approach these essential services take in preventing and addressing gender-based violence against women. Our “10 Insights” delve into the critical role WSS play in supporting women and their children who face such violence. This campaign, launched by WAVE, celebrates and highlights the invaluable contributions of WSS. Through a two-week social media campaign, we unveiled these insights, offering a comprehensive look at the impactful work of Women’s Specialist Services. These significant revelations and the difference they make in the fight against gender-based violence against women are now also presented in this article.
Women’s Specialist Services are feminist services that support women and their children experiencing gender-based violence against women. They include (*but are not limited to):
- Women’s Helplines
- Women’s Shelters
- Women’s Centres
- Rape Crisis or Sexual Violence Referral Centers
- Primary Prevention Services
Unlike general services, Women’s Specialist Services adopt a rights-based, intersectional and gender-sensitive approach, focusing on the unique experiences and needs of survivors. This approach underscores the commitment to providing specialised, superior support that respects the diversity of women’s experiences with violence and discrimination.
At the heart of Women’s Specialist Services is a commitment to feminist principles delivering specialised, women-led services focused on trauma-informed care and providing integrated long-term support beyond emergency assistance. Women’s Specialist Services’ approach is not limited to immediate crisis intervention; it encompasses integrated, long-term assistance in the form of counseling, advocacy, legal support, psychological support, financial support and referrals, among other. These services ensure a seamless, supportive journey for every survivor.
Women’s Specialist Services uniquely empower survivors by prioritising their needs and agency across the violence cycle. Adopting an intersectional lens, we collaborate to affirm and uplift the diverse experiences of women and girls, ensuring their voices lead their journey to recovery.
In short, Women’s Specialist Services are a crucial pillar of feminist civil society. We play a transformative role by offering life-saving support to women affected by gender-based violence and domestic violence. Our work transcends individual assistance, turning service provision into a form of political action that aims to change society at large.
Advancing Women’s Rights through data: The WAVE Country Report
The WAVE Country Report provides a comprehensive review on the availability of Women’s Specialist Services and implementation of Istanbul Convention minimum standards across Europe. Compiling data from 46 countries, it benchmarks progress and highlights areas needing enhancement, guiding the advancement of services for women survivors of gender-based violence.
The WAVE Country Report 2023 can be accessed here.
Below, we present some key data from the WAVE Country Report 2023 on Women’s Helplines, Women’s Shelters, Women’s Centres, Support Services for Sexualised Violence Survivors, Preventing Violence Against Women, and the urgent need to address femicide.
Women’s Helplines are dedicated phone lines that provide immediate, confidential assistance to women experiencing violence against women and domestic violence, including sexual violence. As a safe and accessible first point of contact, Women’s Helplines offer crisis intervention, information, referrals, and empower survivors towards recovery.
Actions to Strengthen Women’s Helpline Services:
- Championing for 24/7, multilingual, toll-free helplines & keep them consistently available, not just in emergencies
- Promoting the helpline’s number far and wide to ensure it is a well-known resource for safety and support
Women Shelters are indinspensable safe spaces offering housing and support for survivors of gender-based violence and their children. These shelters provide a secure, respectful environment that provides support for both immediate crisis response and long-term recovery. The Istanbul Convention highlights the need for widespread, accessible shelters which meet the unique needs of survivors through multiagency collaboration.
Actions to Strengthen Women’s Shelters:
- Enacting laws to guarantee that all women survivors of violence and their children, regardless of their legal status, have access to shelter and specialist support
- Adopting measures to ensure free or affordable access, guaranteeing support is available to all survivors regardless of their financial situation
- Increasing the number of women’s shelters to ensure adequate coverage in both urban and rural areas, enabling access for women nationwide
Women’s Centres serve as essential support hubs by offering specialised services to female survivors of gender-based violence. They prioritise survivors’ rights, needs and empowerment through gender-specific approaches. These centres are instrumental in fostering recovery, promoting community awareness, and preventing violence, enabling survivors to reclaim their autonomy and control.
Actions to Strengthen Women’s Centres:
- Advocating for the availability of women’s centres across all regions, prioritising underserved areas for specialised support
- Pushing for a standardised definition of women’s centres that embodies feminist principles, to ensure consistency and quality of support
Support Services for Sexualised Violence Survivors are essential yet among the least available in Europe. Examples of such support services include Rape Crisis Centres (RCC), offering immediate and long-term counselling, therapy, and legal support, and Sexual Violence Referral Centres (SVRC), providing essential medical and forensic services, typically within hospital settings. The demand for these services far exceeds the current availability, highlighting the urgent need for increased support and resources.
Actions to Strengthen Specialist Support for Sexualised Violence Survivors:
- Supporting the expansion of rape crisis and sexual violence referral centres to meet the Istanbul Convention standards, ensuring one service per 200,000 inhabitants in every region
- Fostering collaboration across healthcare, law enforcement, legal services, and NGOs for a unified approach to sexualised violence
Preventing Violence Against Women involves a comprehensive approach targeting the issue before it occurs:
- primary prevention to alter deep-seated behaviors and attitudes
- secondary prevention for early intervention
- tertiary prevention for crisis support and recovery
Investing in Primary Prevention can significantly reduce violence rates, making it a cost-effective strategy for protecting women’s human rights. Primary Prevention activities include:
- school-based primary prevention programmes
- public awareness-raising campaigns
- training for primary prevention practitioners
- bystander intervention programmes
- feminist self-defence training
- self-care activities
Actions to Strengthen Primary Prevention:
- Increasing investment in research to expand knowledge and implementation of effective primary prevention strategies, including the evaluation and scaling of pilot programs
- Emphasising a balanced approach to primary, secondary, and tertiary violence prevention, ensuring resources enhance rather than detract from each level to secure survivors’ rights and recovery while prioritising the right to a violence-free life
Femicide, the gender-based killing of women, demands urgent action in Europe. The lack of a standardised definition and consistent data collection hampers efforts to combat this extreme form of violence.
Transforming the approach to Femicide in Europe:
- Advocating for uniform methodologies, femicide watches, and policy integration is essential to improve accountability, protection and prevention of gender-based killings
