Equal Opportunities Fund: there are more women’s refuges than there were ten years ago, but regional disparities remain

Strengthening of information systems and national coordination of sectoral policies through uniform assessment criteria. These are some of the recommendations contained in the report, prepared by the National Audit Office, on the Fund for Policies on Rights and Equal Opportunities, with reference to assistance and supportfor women who are victims of violence and their children. The Fund, which is managed by the Department for Equal Opportunities of the Prime Minister’s Office, has allocated resources amounting to €401.6 million between 2017 and 2025, in addition to €56.2 million in regional contributions. The total budget for funding anti-violence centres, women’s refuges and measures to prevent and combat violence against women was therefore €457.8 million.

Alongside a number of positive findings, the Court of Auditors’ assessment of the Fund’s management still highlights a number of issues that need to be resolved. These include the uneven capacity of the Regions to organise services and the need to ensure swift action in the allocation of funding and the transmission of data. In this regard, the Court calls for continuity and speed in the allocation of funds and for the organisational and quality standards of reception facilities to be updated. The training of specialist staff is also crucial. The report also recognises the key role of initiatives for cultural prevention and combating gender stereotypes, particularly in schools and training settings. The recommendation to strengthen these projects, the report states, is set against a social backdrop characterised by an increasingly frequent resort to gender-based violence online (partly due to AI) and by emerging trends regarding violence among minors and access to violent pornography.

According to the Court, this awareness-raising should also be achieved through educational programmes on equality and the prevention of violence, in line with the guidelines of the European monitoring bodies provided for by the Istanbul Convention. The study concludes that acting in a coordinated, timely and consistent manner across the country is essential for the protection of victims and to further strengthen the effectiveness of these initiatives.

Since the last report was drawn up in 2016, the increase in funding has enabled the strengthening of policies to combat gender-based violence, the development of institutional coordination tools and the expansion of the networkof anti-violence centres and of women’s refuges, despite some challenges in the geographical distribution of services. Developments in terms of legislation, planning and funding are therefore in line with international commitments, as well as with the objectives of the Istanbul Convention and the United Nations 2030 Agenda. In fact, reception centres are more widespread, although in quantitative terms the levels are still below European standards and differences persist in the quality and type of support provided across different regions.

Other positive developments include the consolidation of support and protection measures for women who are victims of violence, and the growing focus to women’s empowerment and the training of practitioners. The launch of processes to strengthen information systems and data collection activities is also commendable, despite some inconsistencies at local level.