Step 1: Initiate collaboration

In step one, you identify strategic partners and areas of activity, and ensure that the mandate and resources are in place to carry out the work. What are your conditions, and how can violence prevention be integrated into ongoing processes?


Collaboration is key to success in violence prevention

Joint efforts will have a greater and more sustainable impact if you and your collaborators draw on your respective strengths; everyone needs to be able to see the big picture, but at the same time provide an effective contribution.  By clarifying roles, responsibilities, and mandates, you will strengthen your interventions and avoid bottlenecks and double work.

Violence prevention work should be coordinated with other gender equality work already being carried out regionally and locally. Whatever the scale of the collaboration, it is a good idea to take advantage of the knowledge and support available in your region. For example, contact your local girls-, youth- and women's shelters to learn about their violence-prevention and support work, the county administrative board's experts on gender equality and men's violence against women, and gender-equality coordinators and those who work with crime prevention and safety and security promotion in your municipality.

Violence prevention work can be initiated regionally, locally or in an organisation. Whether the idea is initiated from a political or from an official part, it is important that the intervention is anchored and formally decided upon, so that your work is given the resources necessary for long-term sustainability.

Checklist for Step 1

1. Which arenas and areas in your organisation can contribute to knowledge of the problem and be relevant for the implementation of your violence-prevention work?

2. Which key functions or organisations could be strategic partners?

3. Have you ensured sufficient mandate and resources through formal decisions?

4. Can you link your violence-prevention work to existing collaborative prevention structures?

5. How will the work be financed and organised in collaboration?

6. Do you have a chain of command for the strategic and operational work to be implemented?

7. Have you created a vision and a common understanding of your violence-prevention work that is consistent with your policy documents and operational objectives?

8. Do you have sufficient organisational readiness for sustainable development work?

9. Have you ensured coordination and internal preparedness even for when violence already has been used?

Continue to Step 2

Violence prevention work

Publication date: 2 January 2023

Last updated: 3 January 2023