Supporting Lives Free from Intimate Partner Violence
Towards Better Integration of Services for Victims/Survivors
Many OECD governments regularly identify violence against women as the top gender equality issue their country faces. Yet in all countries, addressing this multifaceted issue presents serious governance and implementation challenges as victims/survivors have complex needs both during and after experiences of violence. Different service delivery providers such as health, justice, housing and social protection must work together seamlessly – across governmental and non-governmental providers – to provide an effective response. This report presents a stocktaking of OECD governments’ efforts to integrate service delivery to address the most prevalent form of gender-based violence against women: intimate partner violence. It presents an overview of different strategies for coordinating key services commonly offered in OECD countries: healthcare, justice, housing, child services, income support, and preventative programmes to stop the reoccurrence of violence. Based on extensive feedback from 35 out of 38 OECD countries and a consultation with non-governmental service providers, this report identifies best practices and investigates the barriers to resolving one of the most pressing human rights issues in OECD countries today.
Integrated policies to address gender-based violence
Chapter 1 discusses the global prevalence of gender-based violence (GBV) against women. It illustrates the importance of vertically- and horizontally-integrated policies to address the complex needs of women escaping GBV, focusing specifically on intimate partner violence (IPV). The chapter provides an overview of general organisational theories behind integrated service delivery (ISD) for victims/survivors, much of which is based on evidence from the health and social policy sectors, and identifies relevant international and national guidelines for effective, whole‑of‑state integration. The chapter concludes with the main findings and recommendations of the full report. These findings are based on 35 countries’ responses to the 2022 OECD Questionnaire on Integrated Service Delivery to Address Gender-Based Violence and a consultation with 27 non-governmental service providers supporting victims/survivors of GBV.
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