Domestic violence is one of the biggest social problems across Europe. However, as the place where it occurs is usually the woman´s home, it is viewed as a private matter and often seems invisible. The root causes of violence against women are embedded in societal structures and social norms, which are upheld and conveyed in the communities we live in. This is why the StoP consortium believes community-based programs are vital to adequately address domestic violence where and when it happens, by unlocking the potential of social networks and local communities.
The StoP model was developed in Germany in 2010 and extended to Austria where it operates within 25 local communities. The StoP consortium now aims to extend this model to France, Belgium, Czech Republic and Romania, with the long-term goal of replicating the model across Europe. The StoP model is based on the idea that communities have the potential to bring change within themselves. It promotes the idea of civil courage and shows that domestic violence is not a private matter. The goal of StoP is to build and strengthen community networks so that partner violence is no longer tolerated, concealed, or ignored.
StoP will operate on the following principles:
● Community mainstreaming of the issue of domestic violence
● Working with local people of all genders and ethnicity, using local language and local symbols
● Community empowerment and ownership
● Participation: engaging a growing community network in the leadership of all activities
● Using creative methods, building campaigns that people enjoy participating in for long term
Our work
The StoP partners will
- Develop StoP toolbox and curriculum for international use and upscale in the European Union
- Prepare the groundwork and train local stakeholders for future replication of StoP program in the chosen EU partner countries
Project Team
The StoP project is developed by an international, interdisciplinary team consisting of:
- Association of Austrian Autonomous Women’s Shelters (Verein AÖF), Project Coordinator, Austria
- Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW) - Department Social Work, Germany
- Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW) - Centre for design research, Germany
- Association for Liberty and Equality of Gender - A.L.E.G, Romania
- Garance ASBL, Belgium
- SC Psytel, France
- Rosa Centrum Pro Zeny ZS, Czech Republic
- WWP EN, the European Network for the Work with Perpetrators of Domestic Violence, Germany
- WAVE, Women Against Violence Europe, Austria
An external Advisory Board will supervise and support the Team
- Carol Hagemann-White, full Professor (emerita) of gender studies and educational theory at the University of Osnabrück
- Simon Güntner, Professor for Spatial Sociology at Technische Universität Wien
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