Opening speech at the international conference in the SYNERGY Network against Gender-based and Domestic Violence

Dear Excellencies, Colleagues and members and friends of the EEA and Norway Grants SYNERGY Network against Gender-based and Domestic Violence,

Good afternoon and welcome!

I am delighted to be here with you to mark the closing of EEA and Norway Grants programmes addressing domestic and gender-based violence in the period 2014-2021.

The Grants are Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein contribution to promote social and economic equality in Europe in selected EU countries.

I would like to express my gratitude to the Government of Lithuania and to vice minister Grigalienė, for hosting this conference together with Norway.

Many warm thanks to the very competent teams in the Central Project Management Agency in Lithuania, the Council of Europe and the Financial Mechanism Office.

I also want to use the opportunity to thank Undersecretary of State Rudzinska-Bluszcz - my colleague in the polish ministry of Justice, for hosting the successful SYNERGY Conference in Warsaw last autumn.

These conferences are strengthening our bilateral relations, as well as our cooperation with international organisations.

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It is a main goal for the Norwegian Government to create a safe society for everyone, free from violence.

Domestic and gender-based violence is a crime that particularly affects women and girls, and therefore effort invested in this area  is an important contribution to good public health, gender equality, and a sustainable economy.

Violence causes fear, can lead to health problems and loss of well-being, and restricts our ability to live fully and participate actively in society. In the worst cases, violence can result in loss of life.

Violence and abuse can affect many generations. It makes life harder for children and young people who experience such violence, and it increases their risk of experiencing more violence or even committing crimes.

These serious crimes also have economic consequences. The socio-economic costs of domestic violence in Norway were estimated to be approximately 12.4 billion euros in 2021. In the European Union the costs are estimated to be around 366 billion euros every year. -

The EEA and Norway Grants play a crucial role in preventing and fighting gender-based and domestic violence across Europe.

Although we all know prevention is better and more effective than repair, securing adequate funding for this important work remains a crucial challenge.

EEA and Norway Grants support a wide range of measures in several beneficiary countries. Shelters and sexual assault centres, awareness raising campaigns, free legal aid, perpetrator programmes, trainings of professionals – just to mention some of them.

The cooperation informs and shapes the work in donor countries as well. Changes in policies and practices are inspired of this collaboration.

Together we have also established the SYNERGY Network against Gender-based and Domestic Violence for governmental and non-governmental stakeholders from both beneficiary and donor countries. By networking we can really capture synergies and make a greater impact.

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The Istanbul Convention on preventing and combatting violence against women and domestic violence is recognized internationally as the golden standard.

To ensure progress in our work, Norway ratified the Istanbul Convention in 2017. We encourage all countries that have not yet ratified to do so.

The Norwegian Government promotes the Convention as a key tool to end violence in all international cooperation.

I believe that using the Istanbul Convention's standards and principles also for the EEA and Norway Grants is part of our successful cooperation.

Norway highly appreciates the solid, invaluable cooperation and support from the Council of Europe throughout the period.

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At the same time as we celebrate achievements of our common efforts, we are excited to prepare for the future with you.

I commend the foreign ministries of the donor countries for focusing on domestic and gender-based violence as a specific program area and also  integrating it into other program areas.

I am particularly pleased that the Grants will cover Prevention, Protection, Prosecution and Coordinated Policies - all the four main pillars of the Istanbul Convention.

Another development that can have an impact on the new financial mechanism, is EU accession to the Istanbul Convention and the new EU directive on combatting violence against women and domestic violence. Congratulations on this next step.

I want to thank the EU parliament and the EU Commission for being together with us these days, and for sharing information about measures at EU level.

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Based on our recent experiences, I am confident that there will be a strong interest in Norway for cooperation in the upcoming period.

We are happy to elaborate the potential of partnerships to strengthen inter-ministerial policy development and implementation.

Further, we recommend to continue our common efforts to step up and address the needs and rights of Roma women and other women facing multiple barriers to access protection, support and justice as victims of violence.

I would also like to emphasize the need for more cooperation aiming at preventing and combating sexual violence among young people - online and offline.

I deeply wish that in the future, gender-based violence in war and conflict would no longer be an issue in Europe. Unfortunately, it remains a reality we must address.

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To conclude, I would like to highlight this note. During my speech I have referred to a lot of numbers connected to the harmful consequences of gender-based or domestic violence.

Behind these numbers, we find ordinary people. While many of us celebrated a merry Christmas with our families some weeks ago, some became a victim to gender-based or domestic violence. I thought a lot about this during this last holiday, because of this note, that originally was a present under my Christmas tree. It was from my brother. It says, and I quote:

“Dear me and my wife. Your Christmas present this year is a contribution to a Norwegian NGO working with this topic. Your present will support the following measures:
* Help to women exposed to domestic violence.
* Preventing violence
* Political influence

Your contribution is crucial.” Quote end. This was a meaningful Christmas present, and the work we are doing right now, is meaningful as well.

I want to express my gratitude to everyone who has contributed to the success of the SYNERGY Network. It is a priority for us to continue networking with you.

Working together across Europe, we can ensure that women and girls experience freedom from violence.

All the best with the conference!