In cooperation with SIA Safege Baltija, we assessed whether the Ministry of Welfare, association Streetbasket (or Ghetto Games) and the association Crisis and Counselling Centre “Skalbes” managed to gain the planned quantitative results and outcomes of the project and campaign aimed at raising awareness about and promoting zero tolerance towards all kinds of violence against women and girls and changing the attitudes and behaviours towards violence (especially among young people).
The research included assessment of project activities using qualitative and quantitative methods for collecting information, including analysis of secondary data on project performance indicators (for example, number of calls to the victim support telephone, number of media contacts, use of social networks, visitors attending, publications) and existing public opinion surveys, interviews with project partners and experts, and a representative population survey.
Our conclusions suggested that majority of project results and sub-objectives were accomplished and that there is convincing evidence that the project has affected the public opinion about women having suffered from violence. After the project implementation in 2018, respondents more often than before agreed that violence against women is unacceptable and that it should be criminalised (stated by 75 % of participants compared to 64 % in 2016). In the survey of 2018, only 19 % of respondents thought that violence against women is a private matter (31 % in 2016), and 18.9 % of participants admitted that their readiness to step in if they witnessed violence against women has grown over the last 12 months. Thanks to this project and the related project “One Step Closer”, also the number of police decisions regarding separation and court decisions regarding temporary protection against violence increased. Also, the number of website visitors, calls to the victim support telephone, and receivers of rehabilitation services has grown, which was one of the tasks of the project.
At the same time, we recognised that project impact was largely influenced by other events and factors present during the project implementation, for example discussions on the ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention. In addition, it was difficult to prove the positive impact of the project among young people.
