News

Europe 19-26/11/2017

RJ WEEK 2017

The International RESTORATIVE JUSTICE WEEK (#RJWeek) will take place all over Europe and beyond in the week between 19-26 November 2017. As usual, the theme of this #RJWeek is INSPIRING INNOVATION.

The United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution A/RES/68/163 at its 68th session in 2013 which proclaimed 2 November as the ‘International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists’ (IDEI). The Resolution urged Member States to implement definite measures countering the present culture of impunity. The date was chosen in commemoration of the assassination of two French journalists in Mali on 2 November 2013.

This landmark resolution condemns all attacks and violence against journalists and media workers. It also urges Member States to do their utmost to prevent violence against journalists and media workers, to ensure accountability, bring to justice perpetrators of crimes against journalists and media workers, and ensure that victims have access to appropriate remedies. It further calls upon States to promote a safe and enabling environment for journalists to perform their work independently and without undue interference.

The focus on impunity of this resolution stems from the worrying situation that over the past decade, more than 700 journalists have been killed for bringing news and information to the public.

In 2012 alone, the UNESCO Director-General condemned the killing of 123 journalists, media workers, and social media producers of public interest journalism. In 2013, the figure decreased slightly to 91, but still represented the second deadliest year for journalists.

Smarter Crime Control shows how to cut rates of murder, violence against women, traffic fatalities, and drug overdoses by 50%. It is a guide for citizens to understand the potential for safer communities at less cost to taxpayers. It explains the latest science to politicians so that they can choose to reduce violence and save taxes. In the United States, they would avoid $300 billion in harm to victims, while saving taxpayers $100 billion a year.

Specific chapters focus on how to retool policing and improve corrections so that they will stop crime and reduce re-offending. It calls for courts that prevent crime by solving problems. It uses an accumulation of scientific knowledge to show where to reinvest in families and youth in problem places to avoid chronic offending and violence on the streets. It points to actions to stop intimate and sexual violence against women. It shows how to cut the high number of victims of traffic crashes. It demonstrates fiscally responsible ways to achieve these milestones in community safety.

Political champions call for governments to get smart on crime. They no longer question the excesses of the war on drugs and mass incarceration. But Smarter Crime Control shows how to achieve even more impressive results – with a further 50% reduction in the harm to victims. It is also about fair and lean systems for safer communities – many fewer persons incarcerated unless prison is the only cost effective public safety option.

Read Smarter Crime Control to understand the future of crime policy in affluent democracies for the 21st century. See how its conclusions would make the United States the leader with the lowest rates of violent crime, the fairest systems of law enforcement, and the least waste of taxes on violent crime in the world.

REVIEWS

“Waller does a good job distinguishing between crime control and prevention, and he does a GREAT job of laying out an agenda for action.”

– John L. Worrall, professor of criminology, University of Texas at Dallas

20 November 2017 11:00 - 12:30 GMT

The Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE) programme, ODI and War Child UK invites you to a panel discussion on discuss innovative approaches to child protection in conflict-affected contexts. Come and hear from academics and practitioners who are using creative strategies and platforms to tackle the harmful, long-lasting impacts of conflict on children and young people. [Source: Overseas Development Institute].

27th November - 1st December 2017, London

UK Human trafficking is a $150-billion-a-year industry and is the world's fastest growing criminal enterprise, with an estimated 27 million victims. Tackling human trafficking has become a critical focus of the international community, as the UN Post-2015 Development Agenda has called for action to be taken urgently to "end modern slavery and human trafficking". Human trafficking is a $150-billion-a-year industry and is the world's fastest growing criminal enterprise, with an estimated 27 million victims. Tackling human trafficking has become a critical focus of the international community, as the UN Post-2015 Development Agenda has called for action to be taken urgently to "end modern slavery and human trafficking".

Friday, December 1, 2017 - 11:00

Join us to hear Dr Silvie Bovarnick and Dr Helen Beckett from the ‘International Centre: Researching child sexual exploitation, violence and trafficking’ at the University of Bedfordshire in the UK, talking about why and how we should engage children and young people in participatory research on sexual violence.

The ‘Being Heard’ project, a collaboration between the Sexual Violence Research Initiative and the International Centre, seeks to promote the ethical, meaningful and participatory involvement of children and young people in sexual violence research. As part of the project, a global scoping was undertaken to review international evidence on youth engagement in participatory research on sexual violence. Sharing emerging findings from the scoping, as well as other related research findings, the session will discuss some of the key barriers, risks, benefits and common ethical issues associated with this work. It will also share practical reflections on how we might meaningfully and ethically involve children and young people in participatory research on sensitive topics. This session aims to help participants to think about some of the practical, ethical and methodological issues associated with youth involvement in participatory research on sensitive issues. There will be a space for you to share some of your experiences, to ask questions and to reflect on some of the practical, ethical and methodological challenges associated with the participatory involvement of children and young people in different stages of the research process.

Who should attend the session?

This session is intended for all working in the field of violence research who are interested in using participatory approaches to involving children and young people in research on sensitive issues. We encourage researchers and practitioners to attend.

Transnational organized crime groups, often funded by proceeds of criminal activities, exploit gaps in law enforcement to create new markets and expand their operations. To enhance international cooperation against transnational organized crime and to improve citizen security, UNODC keeps strengthening ties with crucial partners and participated at the 38th Annual Conference of Crime Stoppers International held in Panama City, Panama.

On 3 November 2016,

BICC hosted its annual International Academic Conference, focussing this year on the pressing global issue of internal displacement and refugee movements. Almost 65 million people are currently displaced worldwide, most of whom have been displaced for more than five years. Entitled “Fleeing Conflict—Trajectories of Displaced Persons”, the conference brought together academics from around the world to present and discuss conceptual and empirical research on the causes, consequences of and solutions for forced migration in current conflicts and displacement settings.

In his welcome address, Thomas Grünewald, State Secretary at the Ministry for Innovation, Science and Research of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia stressed the importance of innovative research on displacement and integration. Unlike some of the discourse in this field, the conference focussed on the issue of displacement from the perspective of the displaced themselves, highlighting their agency in the sometimes cyclical and often interrupted processes of departure, transit and arrival. Three consecutive panels were convened, beginning with scholarly presentations on the “Causes and Conditions of Displacement”, “(Interrupted) Transit and Forced Immobility” and finally, “Durable Solutions for Protracted Displacement”. A concluding panel summarized some of the key points of the day, including the need for more political solutions that target the root causes, and not only the consequences, of protracted displacement.

The conference was generously funded by the Foundation for International Dialogue of the Savings Bank in Bonn and the US Consulate General in Düsseldorf.

This report presents the most current data on four specific forms of violence – violent discipline and exposure to domestic abuse during early childhood; violence at school; violent deaths among adolescents; and sexual violence in childhood and adolescence. The statistics reveal that children experience violence across all stages of childhood, in diverse settings, and often at the hands of the trusted individuals with whom they interact daily. The report concludes with specific national actions and strategies that UNICEF has embraced to prevent and respond to violence against children.

Author:UNICEF

Price:Free Publication

date: November 2017

Publisher:UNICEF

Background The Programme de suivi intensif de Montréal – Gangs de rue (PSI-MTL/GDR) [Montreal Intensive Supervision Program – Street Gangs] was implemented in Montreal from 2009 to 2014 with 138 male offenders and 4 female offenders  aged 15 to 25 who were involved in criminal street gang activity and at a high risk of recidivism, or who were at risk of experiencing crimes associated with street gangs. The program, which was inspired by the Community-Wide Approach to Gang Prevention, Intervention, and Suppression (Spergel et al., 1994), was intended to progressively align treatment principles between different partners and circulate information among stakeholders 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Treatment areas for the program included monitoring, supervision, assistance, and referrals for young people. An evaluation measured the impact of the PSI-MTL/GDR on offending behaviours and criminogenic risks, social integration, and the level of youth engagement in street gangs. A descriptive analysis of program costs was also carried out.

During the Third World Congress in Tokyo, Peter Raynor, Professor at Swansea University, held a presentation about the history, present and future of effective practice.

An article by Peter Raynor.

From early optimism to ‘nothing works’

Since researchers first began looking seriously at probation and its effects, the pendulum has swung between optimism and pessimism. This article aims totrack and explain these movements, and to argue that we now know enough to enter a new period of realism, in which the question is not so much whether probation can be effective (we know it can), but how, with what support and in what policy contexts that effectiveness can be made real.

The origins of probation itself go back to the nineteenth century, but probation as we know it, as a public service provided within the criminal justice system, is largely a product of the twentieth century, and research on the impact of probation began in the 1950s. At that time, criminologists made largely positive statements: Manuel Lopez-Rey, the head of the United Nations Social Defence Section, wrote ‘If I were asked which, among the modern methods for the treatment of offenders is the most promising, without hesitation I would say: Probation’ (Lopez-Rey 1957). For the criminologist Max Grünhut (1952) the essential elements of probation were ‘conditional suspension of punishment, and personal care and supervision by a court welfare officer’.

During the 1960s probation, like other forms of social work, expanded in Europe, the United States and many other countries, alongside the general increase in state-provided welfare services. Its effectiveness was largely taken for granted, and this was still more or less the situation when I joined the Probation Service in England in 1970. However, within a very few years this era of optimism came to an end: serious research on both sides of the Atlantic began to raise questions about whether probation was doing any good at all. The major American review reported (and somewhat exaggerated) by Robert Martinson in 1974 gave us ‘very little reason to hope that we have in fact found a sure way of reducing recidivism through rehabilitation’, and a series of studies in the UK contributed to similarly pessimistic conclusions. For example, the UK Government’s ‘IMPACT’ study published in 1976 showed that probationers receiving intensive services on smaller caseloads did no better (actually slightly, but not significantly worse) than those supervised on normal caseloads. These and similar studies came to be summed up as ‘nothing works’, which remained the widespread orthodox view until the 1990s. It was, of course, popular with some politicians who were looking for reasons to reduce public expenditure. Using social science to evaluate probation At this point we need to think about social science and evaluation methods. Social-scientific service evaluation depends largely on three processes, which can be described as understanding, measurement and comparison. In our field, we need to understand what people are doing and how they are trying to do it; we need to measure effects, and crucially we need to compare those effects with what happens to other similar people receiving different services or inputs, or none. Early studies of probation, such as that by Leon Radzinowicz in 1958, reached optimistic conclusions by measuring outcomes but making no relevant comparisons with the results of other sentences. If such comparisons were included probation did not do so well, and first offenders actually reoffended more on probation than if they were fined. The ‘nothing works’ researchers knew about the need for measurement and relevant comparisons, but did not adequately understand or describe the work actually done by probation officers. They left it as what Jim Bonta in Canada has called the ‘black box’ of supervision. Measuring outputs without understanding inputs leaves open the possibility that there is a mixture of good and bad practice, which means that any good effects from the good practice are likely to be cancelled out by the bad practice, so that researchers will find no overall positive impact – and this is what they found. Detailed study of what practitioners were actually doing, and of the results of different practices, did not become generally available in criminal justice until the 1990s and they led in due course to a new era of optimism and to attempts in many countries to implement ‘what works’.

New research from Angela Higginson, Elizabeth Eggins and Lorraine Mazerolle is now available.

Abstract

Police use a variety of techniques in their investigation of serious violent crimes, such as homicide, robbery, assault and sexual assault. This paper systematically reviews experimental and quasiexperimental research on the effectiveness of these investigative techniques. Meta-analysis was used to combine effect sizes across multiple studies examining the same technique, crime and outcome.

Eighteen studies on 10 broad categories of investigative techniques were identified, with the largest number of studies examining specialised investigative techniques for sexual assault and the collection or testing of DNA and other physical evidence. While there were some promising findings, findings were mixed and, in some areas, there is limited evidence on which to draw strong conclusions.

Given the significant investment of police resources in the investigation of serious violent crime, the results highlight the need for more methodologically rigorous empirical research on both new and established investigative techniques available to law enforcement.

Research ARTICLE

Front. Behav. Neurosci., 06 November 2017

Exposure to community violence through witnessing or being directly victimized has been associated with conduct problems in a range of studies. However, the relationship between community violence exposure (CVE) and conduct problems has never been studied separately in healthy individuals and individuals with conduct disorder (CD). Therefore, it is not clear whether the association between CVE and conduct problems is due to confounding factors, because those with high conduct problems also tend to live in more violent neighborhoods, i.e., an ecological fallacy. Hence, the aim of the present study was: (1) to investigate whether the association between recent CVE and current conduct problems holds true for healthy controls as well as adolescents with a diagnosis of CD; (2) to examine whether the association is stable in both groups when including effects of aggression subtypes (proactive/reactive aggression), age, gender, site and socioeconomic status (SES); and (3) to test whether proactive or reactive aggression mediate the link between CVE and conduct problems. Data from 1178 children and adolescents (62% female; 44% CD) aged between 9 years and 18 years from seven European countries were analyzed. Conduct problems were assessed using the Kiddie-Schedule of Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia diagnostic interview. Information about CVE and aggression subtypes was obtained using self-report questionnaires (Social and Health Assessment and Reactive-Proactive aggression Questionnaire (RPQ), respectively). The association between witnessing community violence and conduct problems was significant in both groups (adolescents with CD and healthy controls). The association was also stable after examining the mediating effects of aggression subtypes while including moderating effects of age, gender and SES and controlling for effects of site in both groups. There were no clear differences between the groups in the strength of the association between witnessing violence and conduct problems. However, we found evidence for a ceiling effect, i.e., individuals with very high levels of conduct problems could not show a further increase if exposed to CVE and vice versa. Results indicate that there was no evidence for an ecological fallacy being the primary cause of the association, i.e., CVE must be considered a valid risk factor in the etiology of CD.

New research from Emmeline Taylor, Murray Lee, Matthew Willis and Alexandra Gannoni is now available.

Abstract

Surveillance technologies have been playing an increasingly significant role in crime control. As part of this development, recent years have seen the introduction of police bodyworn cameras (BWCs) in many countries.

Despite the costs involved in purchasing equipment and storing the large amounts of data generated, there is a dearth of evidence to support their mainstream use as part of law enforcement activities.

There remains little understanding about the impact and effectiveness of BWCs, and less still on how the police, members of the public and, importantly, arrestees perceive and experience the cameras.

In this study, 899 adult police detainees were interviewed about their perceptions and experiences of police BWCs through an addendum to the Drug Use Monitoring in Australia (DUMA) program.

Findings suggest that police detainees in Australia are largely supportive of the use of police BWCs, but this was predicated on a number of operational and procedural requirements. The findings have implications for the use of BWCs as an everyday part of policing apparatus.

Course overview

This five-day CPD course draws on management lessons from the private and public sector and applies them to the modern policing environment. The course has been designed to equip police personnel with the necessary management skills to serve as future leaders within modern police forces. The course has been developed under the aegis of the Institute for Global City Policing, an independent centre based at University College London’s Jill Dando Institute of Security and Crime Science (the JDI).

Course Content

Topics studied in this course will include:

• types of effective leadership styles 

• management skills,

• enhancing communication skills;

• media engagement;

• motivational strategies,

• managing political expectations, and

• succession planning.

The course will also focus on lessons police managers can draw from the voluntary sector, which have special salience given the increasing reliance of the UK police on volunteers, e.g. special constables, citizen patrols, and neighbourhood watch coordinators.

Course Dates

12th to 16th February 2018 (Note: This is a five-day block residential course, ie. It must be attended at our venues in central London.)

Case studies

The course will examine how Turnaround Management has transformed police organisations and the role of Strategic Leadership in engendering reforms and modernization. These case studies will be used to develop an understanding of the mechanism and implementation of change and reform concepts.

Who this course is for

This short course is suitable for dynamic officers wishing to become future leaders of a modern police organisation, who are versed in evidence based practices, are able to use scientific principles to make smart decisions, engender change and transformation and aim to be excellent managers. By equipping officers with these skills and grounding practice and policy in ethical considerations, this CPD offers excellent value to individuals and law enforcement organisations wishing to invest in developing future leaders.

21 November 2017

From the section Northern Ireland

The number of people deemed homeless has increased by 32% in the last five years, according to the Northern Ireland Audit Office.

The report examines the problem and the action the government is taking to address it.

Between 2012 and 2017 homelessness in Northern Ireland cost about £300m, the report found.

Nearly 12,000 households - individuals and families - were accepted as homeless in 2016/17.

The Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE)'s strategy aimed at reducing homelessness has had "limited success," the report found.

The strategy was endorsed and monitored by the Department for Communities (DfC).

The report showed a contrast between homelessness figures and the latest figures on rough sleeping.

Figures showed an average of six people sleep rough each night in Belfast.

'Disproportionately higher'

However the Head of the Northern Ireland Audit Office, Kieran Donnelly, said homelessness was about more than rough sleeping:

"Contrary to popular belief homelessness is not restricted to people who sleep rough, it encompasses a much wider range of individuals in a variety of circumstances", he said.

One of the most devastating human rights violations

Violence against women and girls is one of the most widespread, persistent and devastating human rights violations in our world today. Gender inequality persists worldwide. Achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls will require more vigorous efforts, including legal frameworks, to counter deeply rooted gender-based discrimination that often results from patriarchal attitudes and related social norms, as stated by the UN Secretary-General, in his latest report on progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

Some intolerable facts

Violence against women is the most extreme form of discrimination. According to the aforementioned report, on the basis of data from 2005 to 2016 for 87 countries, 19 per cent of women between 15 and 49 years of age said they had experienced physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner in the 12 months prior to the survey. In the most extreme cases, such violence can lead to death. In 2012, almost half of all women who were victims of intentional homicide worldwide were killed by an intimate partner or family member, compared to 6 per cent of male victims.

Another extreme case of violence against women is female genital mutilation/cutting. This harmful practice has declined by 24 per cent since around 2000. Nevertheless, prevalence remains high in some of the 30 countries with representative data. In those countries, survey data from around 2015 indicate that more than 1 in 3 girls between 15 and 19 years of age have undergone the procedure compared to nearly 1 in 2 girls around 2000.

Moreover, only just over half (52 per cent) of women between 15 and 49 years of age who are married or in a relationship make their own decisions about consensual sexual relations and use of contraceptives and health services. That statistic is based on available data from around 2012 for 45 countries, 43 of which are in developing regions.

Research also shows that achieving gender equality helps in preventing conflict, and high rates of violence against women correlates with outbreaks of conflict. Despite the evidence, actions for women’s inclusion, leadership and protection remain inadequate. In some areas, there has even been a roll back on progress.

Lack of funds

One of the major challenges to efforts to prevent and end violence against women and girls worldwide is the substantial funding shortfall. As a result, resources for initiatives to prevent and end violence against women and girls are severely lacking. Frameworks such as the Sustainable Development Goals, which include a specific target on ending violence against women and girls, offer huge promise, but must be adequately funded in order to bring real and significant changes in the lives of women and girls.

This year has brought some good news in this regard, as the European Union and the United Nations launched the Spotlight Initiative to eliminate violence against women and girls.

Another initiative that has been helping to expose this scourge is the UNiTE to end violence against women initiative launched in 2008 by the then UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, which is also supported by his successor, António Guterres.

New research from Matthew Willis, Emmeline Taylor, Murray Lee and Alexandra Gannoni is now available.

Abstract

Surveillance technologies have been playing an increasingly important role in crime prevention and detection, particularly with cost effective improvements in resolution and mobility. There remains mixed evidence on the effectiveness of this technology for deterrence and detection and whether use results in displacement. In this study, 899 adult police detainees were interviewed about their views and experiences of CCTV through an addendum to the Drug Use Monitoring in Australia (DUMA) program. Police detainees tended to regard CCTV as effective in reducing crime, particularly violent crime, but a significant number felt it would not prevent any crime. Nonetheless, for some the presence of CCTV deterred them from committing crime, although detainees were more likely to carry out their intended behaviours regardless of CCTV. Detainees identified a range of simple strategies for avoiding surveillance cameras, such as covering their face or turning away from the cameras. The findings have implications for the continued use of CCTV as a crime prevention and reduction tool.

Date & Time: 6pm-8pm, Monday, 4th December 2017

Venue: University College London, Nunn Hall, 4th Floor, 20 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0AL

"This event is designed to create mutually beneficial interactions between industry / public-sector organisations and the research students of UCL SECReT. Organisations can gain by accessing some of the brightest minds in the UK to work on real-world research problems central to their own agendas, whilst students benefit from mentorship, access to data, facilities and practitioner expertise. The evening includes a briefing for current and prospective partners of the aims, structure and focus of the centre.

Our current batch of students will introduce themselves and their research interests by presenting ‘crime scenarios’ (it will be up the audience to decide which team has done the best job!) The students come from a range of backgrounds and research interests ranging from forensic and computer sciences through to engineering, laws, risk, intelligence and psychology.

Previous events have seen our students partner with police forces from around the country, the National Crime Agency, and academic and industry partners such as Cranfield University, DSTL, Rapiscan and Selex, leading to ongoing collaborations."

The Council of Europe’s Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP) programme and the Council of Europe’s Committee of Experts on the Operation of European Conventions on Co-operation in Criminal Matters (PC-OC), with the assistance of the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN), have developed a free online course on International Cooperation in Criminal Matters. In a rapidly changing world under the challenges of globalisation and new technologies and to combat transnational crimes such as organised crime, corruption and terrorism and national crimes, mechanisms and instruments of international cooperation in criminal matters are of paramount importance. Therefore it is very important for states to enhance their capacity to deal promptly and efficiently with international cooperation requests based on a range of treaties in European and International Law. The course is not only addressed to legal professionals (judges, prosecutors, central authorities ) working in the field of international cooperation in criminal matters, but also to lawyers, academics and other persons interested in this field. Modules The course consists of ten substantive modules which are explored in a practical way, by using presentations, interactive screens, etc.:

1.Introduction

2.Legal Framework

3.Extradition

4.Mutual Legal Assistance

5.Transfer of Sentenced Persons

6.Supervision of Offenders, International Validity of Criminal Judgments and Transfer of Proceedings.

7.Seizure and Confiscation of Proceeds of Crime

8.International Cooperation Toolbox

9.Knowledge Check

10.Case Study

Tue, 2017/11/28 10:34

Written by Michele R. Decker, Johns Hopkins University

It is hard to believe that our gender-based violence prevention Development Marketplace for Innovation award from the World Bank Group and nonprofit Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI) is in its final phases. Our team (Service Workers IN Group’s (SWING) leaders, Surang Janyam and Chamrong Phaengnongyang, Mahidol University researcher, Dusita Phuengsamran, and my team at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health) has taken tremendous strides together. We developed an outreach-based intervention to reach female sex workers (FSWs) with safety and support messaging, and implemented in Pattaya, Thailand during spring 2017.

Why the focus on FSWs?

You may remember from our past blogs that FSWs face profound and disproportionate risk for physical and sexual gender-based violence. Their homicide rate is approximately 17 times higher than that of women in the general population. As in other populations, the health implications of GBV are striking, including risk for poor sexual and reproductive health, even sexually transmitted infections including HIV. Historically, FSWs have been underserved by traditional violence prevention and support programs, and have little access to justice in areas where sex work is criminalized and marginalized. We built our team and our intervention to begin to change this constellation of risk for FSWs.

Through our award, we trained a cadre of peer educators to impart safety messaging to FSWs during routine outreach. Thanks to the tireless work of SWING in building strategic community partnerships, police volunteers were also trained to join the outreach team. Globally and in Thailand, police-FSW relations are often tense, particularly where sex workers are actively criminalized. Training police volunteers on human rights, violence prevention and support offers them a pro-social identity and an important role in beginning to change FSWs harmful risk environment.

We recently collected our endline evaluation data, and we will spend the months ahead comparing our intervention and control sites to understand the value for FSWs and the people they live with of community-partnered outreach in harm reduction, reducing isolation, building community cohesion and recognizing human rights. By building the evidence base on community-partnered strategies for violence prevention and support, our team hopes to inspire others to take on the most challenging issues in human rights promotion and violence prevention and intervention. Women must believe that their safety and rights are worth defending– even when the odds feel stacked against them. Outreach teams, police, and support systems must know how to support violence survivors and address the very real safety concerns that women face on a day-to-day basis. Together, we can transform a world that enables violence with impunity and blames victims, to one in which freedom, safety, health and human rights prevail for all. Have something to add? Share your thoughts in the comment section below. We would love to hear about any experiences with violence prevention and response among female sex workers.

Tue, 2017/11/28

Written by the Gender-Based Violence (GBV) research group at WAHA International

Since 2011, the civil war and protracted crisis in Syria have led to widespread displacement, with over five million people seeking refuge in neighboring countries and in the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Balkans region. During displacement, women and girls are at risk of gender-based violence. While there is focus on addressing sexual violence in humanitarian contexts, there is less attention directed at addressing and preventing intimate partner violence in these settings. There are also limited studies on how displacement impacts the risk of intimate partner violence and further innovation is needed. Written by the Gender-Based Violence (GBV) research group at WAHA International Since 2011, the civil war and protracted crisis in Syria have led to widespread displacement, with over five million people seeking refuge in neighboring countries and in the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Balkans region. During displacement, women and girls are at risk of gender-based violence. While there is focus on addressing sexual violence in humanitarian contexts, there is less attention directed at addressing and preventing intimate partner violence in these settings. There are also limited studies on how displacement impacts the risk of intimate partner violence and further innovation is needed.

In 2017, we conducted in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and participatory learning and action activities among Syrian women and men, aged 15 years and older in numerous sites in Greece. Through the discussions and interviews, we explored topics their experiences related to displacement and their experiences in the host country. The participatory learning activities included an open-ended story, free-listing exercise, and community mapping. These research activities helped to gain an understanding of the cultural perceptions towards safety and tolerance of violence. The discussions highlighted the complexities of individuals’ situations and the different impacts of displacement, as well as the intersection with converging social norms, attitudes toward violence and behaviours, in and outside of the home.

Innovation comes in many forms, and by letting the voices of our beneficiaries, communities, and populations speak, we may find solutions to prevent intimate partner violence. Keep your eyes out for upcoming publications based on the findings of this research.

The European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control, affiliated with the UN (HEUNI) and the Scandinavian Research Council for Criminology (NSfK) invite participants to a seminar on the exploitation of undocumented migrants in Europe with a focus on the Nordic Countries. The seminar takes place in Helsinki on 12-13 April, 2018. The travel costs of participants will be covered by the organizers. Research reveals that many migrants, especially undocumented ones, form a vulnerable group easily exploited in the labour market or even at risk of ending up in situations of trafficking and forced labour. The number of undocumented migrants has increased in Europe, in particular in the Nordic countries, as a result of the increase in negative asylum-decision resulting from the influx of migrants in 2015. Undocumented migrants may be willing to perform any work on any terms, and are therefore very vulnerable to exploitation. Undocumented migrants or migrants with an irregular status may also be the targets of other forms of violence or discrimination, but rarely report their experiences due to language barriers, lack of trust in the police or for fear of losing their immigration status or being deported. This seminar brings together researchers and practitioners to discuss and share knowledge on the exploitation of undocumented migrants. The seminar will provide an opportunity for dialogue on current knowledge of the situation, and on possible solutions. The seminar focuses on European countries, with a specific emphasis on the Nordic countries. Although the focus is on labour exploitation, the seminar also aims to discuss other forms of exploitation and discrimination, such as sexual exploitation, forced criminality, forced marriage, violence, hate crime, and overall marginalization. The seminar is organized by NSfK in collaboration with HEUNI. NSfK will invite Nordic participants to the seminar, while HEUNI invites participants from other European countries. Participants: Travel and accommodation costs, and a small daily subsistence allowance, will be paid to the selected scholars. HEUNI will cover the costs of participation for emerging scholars from European countries (paid by HEUNI scholarship grants) while NSfK will cover the costs of Nordic participants (labour inspectors, trade unions, police, researchers). Requirements: If you are a researcher or practitioner based in Europe, with recent or on-going research or practical expertise on the issue of exploitation of undocumented migrants. Early career researchers/practitioners will be favored. How to apply: Send a one-page summary of your research/expertise on the topic, including a rationale for why you want to participate in this expert meeting as well as your CV to Ms. Aili Pääkkönen (aili.paakkonen(at)om.fi) by 17 December 2017.

13 November 2017

Annalisa Ciampi

Summary

In this Current Issues Podcast, ACUNS Executive Director, Alistair Edgar, is joined by Professor Annalisa Ciampi to discuss her role as the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. Ciampi started this mandate in May 2017. She discusses the role of the Special Rapporteur (SR) and her first report, which was prepared for the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly. The report describes the SR’s role, her vision for her mandate, addresses the contributions of her predecessor, and establishes Ciampi’s thematic priorities and working methods. Building on the foundation provided by her predecessor, Ciampi focuses on implementation, the delivery of relevant information, and the need to make rights effective. To fulfill her mandate, and as part of her litigation project she will act as “amicus curiae, legal expert and third party intervenor, in cases where the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association are at stake.” In light of the need for action and fluid priorities, Ciampi concludes by suggesting that this topic and our conversation is re-visited in a year as this is an ongoing issue and a moving field. As a Special Procedure mandate-holder, Ciampi works on a voluntary basis; she is not UN staff and does not receive a salary for her work. She is independent from any government or organization and serves in her individual capacity.

The report “Rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association” (14 July 2017, A/72/135) is available in multiple languages on the UN-OHCR website.