Collaboration between police and different support service providers is key to effectively responding to intimate partner violence. 

As police officers are often the first persons alerted to cases of domestic violence, they are required to be the ‘gate-keepers’ to the wider network of service providers, especially victim support and perpetrator services. However, in many jurisdictions in Europe, multiple barriers, including organisational, systemic and individual, prevent law enforcement agencies from making necessary referrals and facilitating reporting. Overcoming these barriers by enhancing the knowledge and capacity of police and other frontline workers in the ecosystem is the main focus of “TACTICS - Improving the response and follow-up of victims and perpetrators of domestic violence by police authorities”.

During the three year work-plan, the TACTICS team will:

• Conduct an analysis of current police practices responding to domestic violence in 7 European regions: Estonia, France, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain and Romania
• Perform capacity building activities to support multi-agency cooperation among police, victim support services and perpetrator programmes
• Improve existing training materials to include modules on working with groups with specific needs
• Develop and share effective data collection and digital tools for continuous improvement of coordinated action 
• Undertake structural change and formalize cooperation between police and other service providers by establishing collaboration agreements

The TACTICS project is funded by the CERV Daphne EC programme, with a duration of 36 months starting on 1 April 2023. Grant Agreement no. 101096908.

The TACTICS consortium will produce the following materials to support European stakeholders to provide a coordinated response to domestic violence:

• Regional Reports on Existing DV Response System
• Training Manual for Police and related frontline workers
• Digital tools for police based on multi-agency cooperation training materials
• 7 Regional Roadmaps to Improve DV Response System
• Policy recommendations for decision-makers at the national and EU level
• Replication guidelines identifying how other communities can pursue similar initiatives

• The University of Tartu, leading university in the Baltics with expertise in developing innovative digital tools used in the public sector, responsible for coordination of the TACTICS project
• Psytel, France is a cooperative of independent experts working in the field of information systems in health and prevention of violence against children, adolescents and women, responsible for analysis of TACTICS targeted regions
• UWAH, NGO from Greece active in raising awareness and advocating for human rights, responsible for regional roadmaps for IPV response in TACTICS
• MEFH, The Movement for Equality between Women and Men is a non-profit organisation from Belgium that develops initiatives and studies to combat discrimination based on sex, responsible for reviewing gender-sensitivity of TACTICS project outputs
• GESINE, Frauen helfen Frauen from Germany, is a centre for prevention, information, protection and support in the event of gender-related violence against women, responsible for research and capacity building in Germany in TACTICS project
• CIMTM is a feminist organisation working on gender based violence, including intimate partner violence and sexual exploitation, responsible for research and capacity building in Spain in TACTICS project
• The University of Babes-Bolyai, the oldest university in Romania with a strong network of collaborating organisations, including police and victim support services. Romania, responsible for project evaluation of TACTICS
• WWP EN in Germany is the European Network for the Work with Perpetrators of Domestic Violence, responsible for communications and dissemination for TACTICS
• WSIC, from Estonia is a domestic violence shelter offering comprehensive assistance to women trying to break the cycle of domestic violence, responsible for efforts to address system barriers in TACTICS

Coordinator: Mari Puniste - UTartu - mari.puniste(at)ut.ee

Communications contact: Dimitra Mintsidis - WWP European Network – d.mintsidis(at)work-with-perpetrators.eu