National Action Plan to Combat Psychological and Physical Violence in Close Relationships 2019-2022

Brief Description

Intended to help victims of physical and psychological intimate partner violence, dating violence and stalking, the National Action Plan to Combat Psychological and Physical Violence in Close Relationships 2019-2022 comprises of the following aims:
- Prevent psychological and physical violence in close relations through awareness raising activities
- Initiate research to inform future policies
- Provide counselling services for victims and perpetrators of violence

The action plan has 18 initiatives under the heading of 3 focus areas:
- Prevention and recognition of psychological violence: This includes awareness raising in the general population and specifically among children and young people. This focus is in line with the Government’s bill on introducing a separate section concerning psychological violence in the criminal code.
- Further strengthening of ambulatory counselling and treatment programs: The action plan finances and develops a number of specialized programs that provides counselling, treatment and support for victims and perpetrators of different forms of violence including dating violence, intimate partner violence, stalking and digital harassment.
- Increased knowledge: This includes a nationwide study of the prevalence of physical and psychological violence in intimate relations, which allows for comparisons over time. 

As a part of this Plan, the government intends to initiate a research project using survey methodology to estimate the prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV). The study will enable comparison of the prevalence rates of physical IPV in 2005, 2010, 2017 and 2021 and will create a baseline estimate of the prevalence of psychological IPV.