Category Archives: 02. Press releases

Press release sent to Ritzau.dk at the beginning of the Tour

Conflict Resolution, Knots and Artwork in the Nordic Countries.

Nordic Tour 2014 starts this evening at a meeting in Denmark. The three activists and professionals travel the Nordic Countries during the next 10 days.

It is:

Professor and researcher Dr. Dale Bagshaw, Australia

Attorney and mediator Pia Deleuran, Denmark

Photographer Sisse Jarner, Denmark

They say: “We are following up on the Nordic Forum, Malmø, Sweden in the summer 2014 where the head of UN Women – the relatively new Womens’ section for equality and empowerment for women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said:

‘The Nordic countries have to eliminate violence against women and prove to the rest of the world that this can be done.’”

She is backed up by the head of the Nordic section, Asger Ryhl.

The group behind the Nordic tour initiative is Barnets Tarv NU that has advocated for a new Act concerning custody, residence and visitation in Denmark.

They want to gather experiences in the Nordic countries to see if the UN’s ambition in this field can be accomplished.

Denmark was severely criticized in an EU fact-finding paper this year.

Now when the Istanbul convention – the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence – has entered into force from the 1^st of August, the Danish state has to take action.

The Bar and Law Society has stated that they have no resources to look into the matter for the time being.

For more information please contact Pia Deleuran
pd@deleuran
0045 30246803.

Press release sent to Ritzau.dk at the end of the Tour

The Nordic Tour 2014 – “Conflict resolution, knots and artwork” (9th to the 19th of September) is about to come to an end.

Attorney and mediator Pia Deleuran (Deleuran law firm, Denmark), Associate Professor Dale Bagshaw (School of Psychology, Social Work and Social Policy, University of South Australia), and photographer and artist Sisse Jarner, Denmark, have toured most of the Nordic countries to investigate custody and visitation issues in the family law field in each country. They report that:

“in all countries visited the messages were similar: that the ‘best interests’, welfare, safety and the rights of the child are often forgotten or ignored in family law matters, in particular where there are allegations of family violence (domestic violence and child abuse). Instead, the focus of decisions tends to be on the rights of parents, in particular on the rights of fathers. Since the focus of family law in each country has shifted to ‘shared parental responsibility’, many cases involving violence against children and mothers have not been adequately investigated and in some cases mothers and children have been put at risk by the decisions made. The impact of gender neutral legislation, the failure to adequately screen for and respond to violence, and the failure to acknowledge the effect of witnessing violence on children, or to adequately address attachment issues for children, urgently need further investigation. We also detected failures to provide access to fair and just court and administrative procedures. For example, in some countries we visited, the law makes it almost impossible for professionals with appropriate expertise to thoroughly investigate allegations as there is an emphasis on focusing on the future.”

Much needs to be changed for the Nordic countries to live up to the Istanbul Convention on Violence Against Women and Children, which was enforced on August 1st this year.

The three investigators will send their report in pictures and words to the Administrative Director of the UN section for the Equality and Empowerment of Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, and to the Nordic division, which is lead by Asger Ryhl. It is anticipated that they will develop further initiatives to ensure that policies and practices in the Nordic countries lead to zero tolerance for violence against women and children.

The full report is expected to be online within two weeks: www.nordictour2014.dk

The three investigators thank the Dreyer Foundation and the National Organisation of Women’s Shelters in Denmark – LOKK – for having made the Nordic Tour 2014 possible by offering various kinds of support.

For more information please contact:

Attorney and mediator Pia Deleuran – email: pd@deleuran.dk or phone: 0045 30246803

Associate Professor Dale Bagshaw – email: dale.bagshaw@unisa.edu.au (available for@ interviews via skype)

The Istanbul Convention – a new tool for combatting violence!

The Istanbul Convention have now entered into force. Below is the organisation WAVE‘s press release regarding the convention.

“The Istanbul Convention enters into force on 1 August 2014. This is an important milestone in the history of the Women’s Movement and much remains to be done to improve the situation of women survivors of violence and their children.

On the 1st of August 2014, the Istanbul Convention will come into force. For Women against Violence Europe (WAVE) and all of our Focal Points and Partners, the upcoming event is a tremendous accomplishment in the history of the Women’s Movement. The Istanbul Convention is the first ever truly comprehensive instrument at the European level which addresses violence against women. As of beginning of July 2014, 13 countries have already ratified the Convention, and 25 have signed it. The Convention’s coming into force is an important step, and strong implementation and commitment of member states is needed to effectively work towards preventing and combating violence against women and their children.

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