Launching ceremony of the campaign against domestic violence

Madrid, Spain, 27 November 2006

Speech by Ian Micallef, President of the Chamber of Local Authorities

of the Council of Europe Congress of Local and Regional Authorities

Growing up as a boy, I learned a rule of honour for men: respect others and never physically attack another. You will disgrace yourself by doing so. Yet, millions of men are disgracing themselves today across Europe through domestic violence against women, children and aged persons, which has brought about the need for the campaign that we are launching here in Madrid.

Violence has been a major issue for this continent over centuries, especially the last century with its two World Wars.  We have learned our lessons, and, more or less, tackled violence off the street – just to see it go into houses, behind closed doors. On any given day, in every single one of more than 200,000 territorial communities of Europe, there is an appalling number of women who are victims of violence and aggression – often at the hands of the very people closest to them.

I am honoured to be here today to represent the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, as President of its Chamber of Local Authorities, and to speak to you about the importance of the local and regional dimension in ensuring the greatest possible impact of the campaign which we are launching today.

Local and regional elected representatives, their police officers, social workers and administrative employees are on the frontline of dealing with domestic violence and its repercussions and in providing the necessary services to the women and children who are the most likely victims.

In this campaign, the Council of Europe Congress will take the maximum advantage of its unique position – on the one hand, as a pan-European body, representing, as I have already mentioned, over 200,000 territorial communities and speaking for all municipalities and regions of the 46 Council of Europe member states, and, on the other hand, using its proximity to the citizens it serves.

I see the Congress’ role in this campaign in particular as follows:

Firstly, to provide a forum for an exchange of good practices among local and regional authorities on a pan-European level, taking into account the initiatives already taken at territorial level. We need to make sure that these initiatives, ranging from ways of protecting victims, working closely with NGOs in the field, to training of municipal staff and promoting preventive education measures in schools, are shared across Europe.

Secondly, in order to ensure that the message of the campaign falls on fertile ground, we also need to undertake urgent, immediate and sustained awareness-raising action both within municipal administrations and civil society.

To put this into practice, the Congress is planning to organise an awareness-raising  week around 8 March 2007, which will entail participating cities, including the City of Strasbourg, putting up posters and organising public debates in schools and town halls on the issue of violence against women.

The Congress has also set up a website dedicated to the issue, which, we hope, will also serve as the forum for the exchange of good practices. We invite municipalities and regions to send their web-pages outlining examples of their good practices in fighting domestic violence, and we plan to create an interactive News Update section to post upcoming events from national associations of local authorities.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We must join our forces in a concerted action against domestic violence.  One of the strengths of the Council of Europe is precisely that it can reach every level of government and civil society. I can assure you that the Congress will work hand in hand with the intergovernmental and parliamentary dimensions of the Council of Europe campaign to ensure maximum synergy in carrying out the “Stop domestic violence against women” campaign.

Violence can come in many shapes and forms, especially violence against women. It can come in the form of human trafficking and forced prostitution, or abuse at home, or harassment at work. Our task today is to make sure that these phenomena do not go unnoticed, that our society is aware of them, and that national governments, parliaments, local and regional authorities and civil society take urgent action to address them.

This is why I warmly welcome this campaign on behalf of the Council of Europe’s Congress, and wish this conference every success.

Thank you.