Call for Proposals: Preventing and Combating GBV and Violence Against Children

Deadline: 24-Apr-24

The European Commission (EC) has announced a call for proposals to prevent and combat gender-based violence and violence against children.

Objectives

To fight violence, including gender-based violence and violence against children by:
- Preventing and combating at all levels all forms of gender-based violence against women and girls in all their diversity and domestic violence, including by promoting the standards laid down in the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence;
- Preventing and combating all forms of violence against children, young people and other groups at risk, such as LGBTQI persons and persons with disabilities;
- Supporting and protecting all direct and indirect victims of the forms of violence referred to in points (1) and (2), such as the victims of domestic violence perpetrated within the family or within intimate relationships, including children orphaned as a result of domestic crimes, and supporting and ensuring the same level of protection throughout the Union for victims of gender-based violence.

Themes and Priorities

Large-scale and long-term transnational actions on tackling genderbased violence
- In line with the Gender Equality Strategy, this priority aims to support the development of large-scale, integrated actions to combat gender-based violence and achieve long-term and structural changes with a wide geographical coverage.
- All forms of gender-based violence can be addressed under this priority through prevention, gender-sensitive protection and support to victims. The objective is to achieve balanced coverage of actions across different areas of intervention in line with the priorities of the Gender Equality Strategy.
- To do this, a number of transnational proposals will be selected, each focusing on one of the areas set out below:
  - domestic violence: increasing awareness of and access to support services for (potential) victims, strengthening gender-specific responses to domestic violence (including for witnesses of domestic violence), through capacitybuilding and multi-disciplinary strengthened cooperation and coordination among relevant actors;
  - harmful practices: tackling female genital mutilation, intersex genital mutilation, forced abortion, forced sterilisation, child and forced marriage, honour-related violence and other harmful practices against women and girls;
  - gender-based cyber violence: tackling gender-based cyber violence, such as incitement to violence, online stalking, non-consensual image sharing, extortion with the use of sexual imagery (‘sextortion’), sexual or gendered online harassment and bullying, grooming, etc;
  - violence and harassment in the world of work: tackling physical and psychological offline and online violence or harassment in work contexts by, in particular, preventing such unwanted behaviours, encouraging the development and implementation of remedies and victim support mechanisms, and the development of relevant tools, guidance, education and training;
  - gender stereotypes: preventing gender-based violence by tackling prejudices and gender stereotypes, in particular those related to masculinities, norms, attitudes and behaviours that encourage, condone or minimise violence, as well as by providing women and men, girls and boys, in all their diversity, with the tools to call out and stand up to violence through empowerment and bystander intervention programmes.
- Indicative funding available for this priority: EUR 11 000 000.
Targeted actions for the protection of and support for victims and survivors of gender-based violence
- This priority will focus on the protection of and support for victims of gender-based violence, including children. This includes:
  - Targeted and gender-sensitive protection and support for groups at a heightened risk of violence (e.g. people with a migrant background including children in migration, LGBTIQ persons, racial or ethnic minorities which include Roma people, women or children with disabilities or facing mental health issues, pregnant women, women in detention, women living in rural areas, women living and/or working on the street, children in alternative care, persons in prostitution, elderly women), including through tackling under-reporting;
  - Targeted and gender-sensitive support to victims of sexual violence (including sexual exploitation/trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation, and in the context of armed conflict) and other specific forms of harm;
  - Promoting multi-disciplinary cooperation, including online, among relevant professionals, including on the model of Children’s houses (Barnahus) or the model of the Family Justice Centres. Strengthening referrals between relevant national actors (e.g. law enforcement, the judiciary, support service providers, health and social service professionals) and multidisciplinary, including psychosocial, support; and
  - Provision of support through national helplines dedicated to victims of violence against women (support to initial establishment of such helplines in Member States where these are not yet available, awareness-raising of available support through helplines).
  - Indicative funding available for this priority: EUR 4 800 000.
Targeted actions for the prevention of gender-based violence, in the domestic sphere, in intimate relationships, and online, including through targeted actions with perpetrators
- Under this priority, gender-based violence will be prevented through:
  - The development of gender-sensitive tools for the prevention of domestic violence that help recognise and address early signs of violence, including less visible forms of violence such as coercive control and psychological violence. This is done, for example, through assessing existing screening methods and enhancing the development and utilisation of evidence-based systematic screening methods for signs of domestic violence by medical practitioners (or other practitioners in services not directly linked to domestic violence support, for example social or educational services).
  - The development of gender-sensitive measures for the prevention of violence in intimate relationship that promote equal relationships, address harmful stereotypes and give tools for peaceful conflict resolution in relationships.
- Indicative funding available for this priority: EUR 5 000 000.
Targeted actions making integrated child protection systems work in practice
- Children may face different forms of violence. Exposure to violence severely affects a child’s physical, psychological and emotional development. It may affect their ability to go to school, to interact socially and to thrive. It can lead to mental health issues, chronic diseases, self-harm tendencies, even suicide. Children in vulnerable situations can be particularly affected.
- The promotion of integrated child protection systems is intrinsically linked to the prevention and protection from violence. With the child at the centre, all relevant authorities and services should work together to protect and support the child, in their best interests.

Funding Information

Project budgets (maximum grant amount) are expected to range:
- For Priority 1 – the EU grant applied for cannot be lower than EUR 1 000 000 and higher than EUR 2 500 000.
- For the other priorities the EU grant applied for cannot be lower than EUR 100 000 and higher than EUR 1 000 000.

Duration

For Priority 1: Projects should normally range between 24 and 36 months.
For Priorities 2 to 4: Projects should normally range between 12 and 24 months.

Eligible Activities

Activities shall include:
- Development of tools to help recognise and address early signs of domestic violence and violence against children;
- Awareness-raising, including social media or press campaigns, outreach and empowerment activities, including communication activities and dissemination of information;
- Capacity building and training for professionals and relevant stakeholders, in particular train-the-trainer programmes, training activities of national, regional and local authorities;
- Design and implementation of strategies, protocols, development of transferable working methods and tools, coordination platforms and groups;
- Design of services and measures improving access to victim support services;
- Identification and exchange of good practices, cooperation, mutual learning, development of working and learning methods, including transferable mentoring programmes;
- Development of guidelines and manuals for specialised support services (e.g. in the work place, schools, universities, online).

Expected Impact

Large-scale and long-term transnational actions on tackling gender-based violence:
- Systemic changes through e.g. structural reforms, explicit commitments and changes of processes, protocols, policies and practices of organisations/companies/structures etc;
- Increased capacity of stakeholders and relevant professionals to address issues related to gender-based violence, including through strengthened multi-agency cooperation.
Targeted actions for the protection of and support for victims and survivors of gender-based violence:
- Victims from particularly vulnerable groups can better access protection and support services that address their specific needs;
- Increased capacity of stakeholders and relevant professionals in contact with these groups to address issues related to gender-based violence and violence against children, including through strengthened multi-disciplinary cooperation.
Targeted actions for the prevention of gender-based violence, in the domestic sphere, in intimate relationships, and online, including through targeted actions with perpetrators:
- Increased promotion and support of gender-sensitive prevention of violence in close relationships through awareness raising, sharing of information and knowledge and the creation and dissemination of training opportunities;
- Increased awareness of prejudices, gender stereotypes and norms that contribute to the tolerance of gender-based violence.
Targeted actions making integrated child protection systems work in practice
- Strengthened integrated child protection systems centered on children’s needs;
- Strengthened multisectorial prevention, protection and support to children suffering violence and in need of protection.

Eligibility Criteria

In order to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must:
- be legal entities (public or private bodies)
- be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:
  - EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs))
  - non-EU countries:
    - countries associated to the CERV Programme or countries which are in ongoing negotiations for an association agreement and where the agreement enters into force before grant signature
- other eligibility conditions
To be eligible under the first priority, grant applications must comply with all of the following criteria:
- Lead applicants must be non-profit making. Organisations which are profit-oriented cannot submit applications as lead applicants, but only in partnership with public entities, private non-profit organisations, or international organisations;
- the project has to be transnational;
- the application must involve at least two organisations (applicant and partner from 2 different eligible countries, not being affiliated entity or associated partner);
- the EU grant applied for cannot be lower than EUR 1 000 000 and higher than EUR 2 500 000.
To be eligible under the second, third and fourth priority, grant applications must comply with all of the following criteria:
- Lead applicants must be non-profit making. Organisations which are profit-oriented cannot submit applications as lead applicants, but only in partnership with public entities, private non-profit organisations, or international organisations;
- the project can be either national or transnational;
- the application must involve at least two organisations (applicant and partner not being affiliated entity or associated partner);
- the EU grant applied for cannot be lower than EUR 100 000 and higher than EUR 1 000 000.

For more information, visit EC.