WP1
Identifying victims’ needs and potential for improvement in frontline responders’ organisations
It covers original research that constitutes the necessary knowledge base for the subsequent Work Packages.
We adopt a two-pronged research strategy that addresses in parallel both victim-survivors’ needs and frontline responders’ (FLR) priorities within the framework of the system. WP1 will produce new knowledge about the barriers, obstacles and challenges that paralyse the system of DV prevention, detection and intervention, but also insights about the innovative solutions, tools and procedures that are being used to combat DV also in the challenging conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Research in WP1 aims not so much at exposing weaknesses and deficiencies but indicating achievements and advancements that are as yet often underutilised.
Methodology
IMPROVE will analyse country-specific challenges, solutions and priorities within a shared framework of a complex system. This allows us to understand country-specific challenges, obstacles and solutions as particular manifestations of more generic systemic features. The systemic framework allows us to feed country-specific and particular findings into designing and developing innovations (AI Chatbot, training, policy acceleration, awareness raising) that have general usefulness.
It will investigate how the conditions of the global pandemic are influencing the prevalence and reporting of DV, victims’ access to services and support, as well as the authorities’ ability to respond. Special attention will be paid to the second crosscutting issue focusing on differences in access to services and the ability to respond for different segments of the population, revealing new and increased marginalisation in pandemic conditions. Partners will simultaneously investigate innovative solutions such as 24/7 help lines, help chats, novel awareness campaigns, novel reporting locations, and unconventional shelters and accommodation emerging in response to these new conditions.
Partners will utilise national data and country reports produced and compiled in the IMPRODOVA special report on the COVID-19 pandemic. We will also conduct 6 expert interviews in six countries, focusing on organisational challenges in DV response resulting from the pandemic, as well as the strategies and solutions to mitigate these challenges. We will identify and map best practices and innovate solutions.
Work Package Lead