From 26 to 27 March, WAVE participated in the 6th meeting of the EU Network on the Prevention of Gender-Based Violence and Domestic Violence in Brussels. Coordinated by the European Commission, the network brings together representatives of EU member states, civil society organisations, and other actors to exchange best practices and support the implementation of the EU Directive on violence against women and domestic violence.
WAVE has been part of this network since its launch, contributing to ongoing peer-to-peer exchanges aimed at strengthening EU-level frameworks. Participation in these sessions reflects WAVE’s commitment to ensuring that the expertise of specialist women’s services is embedded in how the Directive is implemented across Europe, and that policy discussions remain grounded in the realities faced by survivors and frontline organisations.
At this sixth session, WAVE contributed both as a participant and as a speaker. Valentina Andrasek from Autonomous Women’s House Zagreb presented in a panel on the role of shelters and specialist support services in domestic violence cases, drawing on findings from the WAVE Country Report. Additional contributions from WAVE members in Austria and Sweden reinforced the importance of recognising decades of frontline expertise, ensuring the availability of women-only shelters, and improving the quality and comparability of data on specialist services.
The two-day programme covered several key thematic areas, including law enforcement and justice responses, shelters and support services, child custody and visitation rights, and perpetrator intervention programmes. Across these discussions, significant challenges were identified. Funding, availability, and quality remain major gaps for specialist services, while risk assessment continues to be led primarily by police in many countries, highlighting the need for stronger interdisciplinary cooperation.
Concerns were also raised around the handling of child custody cases involving domestic violence, particularly the misuse of concepts such as “parental alienation” and the prioritisation of parental contact over the safety of survivors and children. At the same time, promising practices were highlighted, including the criminalisation of coercive control and the use of Emergency Barring Orders, which allow survivors to remain in their homes rather than being displaced.
The meeting reinforced WAVE’s long-standing advocacy positions: that effective responses to violence against women require coordinated legal frameworks, survivor-centred approaches, and sustained investment in specialist women’s services. It also underscored the importance of harmonised definitions and improved data collection to ensure consistent implementation and accountability across EU member states.
