Final report of Estonia of the Council of Europe Campaign to Combat Violence against Women, including Domestic Violence

The Estonian national campaign concentrated on awareness raising and developing a national action plan on combating domestic violence.
The campaign had two target groups: government officials (including civil servants in different ministries) and the wider public. The duration of the campaign was from January to December 2007.
The final meetings of the national action plan’s working-group took place the draft version of the action plan was written and negotiations between the different ministries involved were carried out.
We expect the national action plan for the years 2008-2011 to be adopted and to enter into force under the second half of 2008.
The aim of the national action plan is to divide responsibilities between different institutions (both governmental and non-governmental) and to develop a solid approach towards prevention and combating domestic violence.

The action plan has 5 main goals:


The responsible body for the implementation of the national action plan is the Ministry of Social Affairs.

Legal and policy measures
Legal and policy measures are an integral part of the national action plan for years 2008-2011. No separate actions were undertaken nor developments made in that area during the campaign.

Support and protection for victims
Both support and protection for victims are an integral part of the national action plan for years 2008-2011. No concrete actions were held nor developments made in that area during the campaign.

Data collection
During the first half of the year 2007, a questionnaire for national victim and violence survey was put together. For the first time there will be a separate questionnaire for intimate partner violence in the national victim and violence survey.

The responsible body for compiling the survey is Statistics Estonia. The Ministry of Social Affairs is an advisory institution on the intimate partner violence questionnaire.

There were two trainings carried out – one on how to collect data on intimate partner violence for Estonian researchers and civil servants carried out by Finnish researches; and the other one on domestic violence in general for researchers and civil servants carried out by the director of Tartu Women’s Shelter. Both trainings were a preparation for the national victim and violence survey.

Awareness raising
One of the campaign’s direct goals was to publish a special edition on domestic violence in the Estonian daily “Eesti Päevaleht”. During the first half of the year, preparations for the special edition were made. We also had to recognize that there were not enough financial resources to publish a special edition and we had to rethink the ways of reaching out.

Instead, a smaller series of articles on the issue of domestic violence were published in the Estonian daily “Eesti Päevaleht”. The Gender Equality Department worked closely with the journalist and gave particular themes and contacts to different stakeholders that were interviewed. The series of articles reflected specific cases of domestic violence.

Also, a campaign TV spot made by the Council of Europe was broadcasted in Estonian by the Estonian National TV Station in September 2007.

The awareness raising activities will continue. We have established a good cooperation with journalists who write about social problems and this cooperation will continue in the field of domestic violence.

In September, the NGO Women's Shelter of Tartu carried out training on domestic violence for medical staff. It was a two-days training for 30 medics, including nurses, social workers and psychologists, Joosep Kaasik from Lääne Police Prefecture, Raul Heido from Prosecutor's office and forensic medical expert Marika Väli.

The European Charter for Equality of Women and Men in Local Life was translated into Estonian language by the Estonian Women's Associations round table. The Charter covers also the topic of gender-based violence.
(EG-VAW-CONF (2007))

The campaign does not have a special web page; the information is uploaded on the pages http://www.sm.ee and http://gender.sm.ee.

Assessment of the impact of the Council of Europe Campaign

The Task Force will partly base its assessment of the impact of the Council of Europe Campaign to combat Violence against Women, including Domestic Violence on the following indicators. Please respond by ticking on the boxes.

The Penal Code does not explicitly criminalize domestic violence. Domestic violence falls into the category of ordinary violence, i.e. crimes against person.

2. Is violence committed by a partner or former partner punished more severely than violence among strangers (eg. gender based violence as such or the abuse of power will be considered an aggravating circumstance)?

Falls into the category of ordinary violence, i.e. crimes against person.

3. Are victims enabled to seek justice in a human manner (eg. specialised courts on domestic violence, specialised units within the police, the public prosecutor or the judiciary)?

4. Does a national emergency 24/7 help-line exist free of charge for victims of domestic violence in your country?

5. Have safe shelters been set up for victims of domestic violence in an adequate ratio in your member state? 1

We have 4 shelters for women victims of violence, there exist 27 general crisis centres in the country. In compliance with EG-TF(2006) 8 rev 5

6. Is administrative data being collected on victims of domestic violence?

Open Estonia Foundation.

7. Is domestic violence considered as a human rights violation to be addressed in your legal system?

YES q NO x

Note 1 The Blueprint of the Council of Europe Campaign recommends a ratio for one place in a woman’s shelter per 7.500 inhabitants.