On 25-26 February, the CEP and EuroPris expert group on Domestic Violence came together in Hasselt, Belgium, for its second meeting.
On Monday afternoon, a study visit to the Family Justice Centre took place, where its multi-agency work was presented. The next day, the meeting continued at the town hall of Hasselt. The collection of best practices and domestic violence treatment programs were discussed, after which four sessions of “sharing and learning” were held on: maintaining victim safety; on the difficulty of sharing (confidential) information; on not-(yet)-convicted perpetrators and on sustainable funding for treatment programs.
It is important to understand that domestic violence can be a “hidden” problem of offenders that have been sentenced for other crimes, not related to domestic violence. It is important to identify those cases. Attention needs also to be paid to the differences in cultural and religious backgrounds and to increase the knowledge about this matter in order to tackle domestic violence in different contexts. Domestic violence is an issue in both sectors, prison and probation. For that reason, CEP and EuroPris work together in this joint expert group.
In 2020, a special newsletter was published on the issue of Domestic Violence. Click here to view the special issue on domestic violence Newsletter.
The second CEP-EuroPris expert meeting on Domestic Violence took place on 25-26 February 2020 in Hasselt, Belgium.