"While we are a small country, we have a large role to play in working with our international partners."

This May, I attended the inaugural meeting of the newly established Confederation of European Probation (CEP) Gender-Based Violence (GBV) expert group which convened in Bilbao, Spain.

While the CEP Probation might seem somewhat removed from what we, as practitioners, do on a day-to-day basis, it aims to promote the social inclusion of offenders through community sanctions and raise the profile of probation measures at a European level, both of which are integral to our work in probation.

I am one of eight members of the GBV expert group which includes participants from Portugal, Latvia, Denmark, Malta, and the Basque Country, most of whom work in probation or psychology services. We also have the benefit of a judicial perspective as one of our members is a judge and lecturer in North Macedonia.?

I am fortunate enough to have had previous involvement with the CEP as I was a member of a previously formed domestic violence expert group. This newly formed GBV expert group commits to work together from 2024-2026 and it promises to be another valuable opportunity to network with probation practitioners, managers, academic researchers and others working in the field of probation and criminal justice from across Europe.

Day one comprised a meet and greet with the CEP Secretary General Jano Spero and the group chair, Kieran McCartan , a professor of criminology at University of the West of England in Bristol. As with any new gathering, it takes a while to get to know each other. Some members of our group were conversing in a second or third language, so I had to make a conscious effort to talk slowly, which is a challenge for me! However, before long, a stimulating exchange of knowledge and experiences flowed, and it was clear that we were going to gel as a group.

The second day of the event was attended by the Basque Minister for Justice and the Secretary General of Prison & Probation who both spoke in support of the CEP event and the gravity of the issue of GBV in Spain, highlighting how it is a global concern.

For instance, 31% of women in the EU have experienced one or more acts of physical violence since the age of 15. Meanwhile, one in four adolescents between the ages of 15-18 ?have experienced sexual/physical violence from an intimate partner with online and real world abuse now an interchangeable phenomenon, compounding the trauma and stress for victims of GBV.

Throughout the meeting we heard about a range of innovative and interesting responses to GBV across Europe. For instance, polygraph testing is provided in the UK Domestic Violence Act 2021 and is currently being piloted in the UK as a means of managing perpetrators of domestic violence and sexual violence. We are all aware that denial and minimisation is a common characteristic of perpetrators of GBV, however, the idea of polygraph testing certainly sparked a lively debate on human rights and the effect on the client /worker therapeutic alliance.

A Turkish researcher and guest speaker informed us that although Turkey became a signatory to the Istanbul Convention in 2011 which opposes violence against women and girls, Turkey is now in the process of ‘exiting’ the Convention due to national objections based on claims that it is causing inequality. This is clearly of concern especially as violence against women and girls is on the rise again in Turkey.

For me, it was affirming that the Irish Probation Service is a forerunner in many aspects of best practice, particularly with regard to the assessment and management of sex offenders and domestic abusers. I believe we can make a make a positive contribution to learning and practice development across Europe through this expert group. While we are a small country, we have a large role to play in working with our international partners.

For some of the members of the expert group, probation organisations have just been established in recent years. In Macedonia, a Probation Service was established five years ago and there is now a drive to promote the use of pre-sanction reports and probation sanctions in the courts.

Latvia primarily imposed community service sanctions on convicted domestic abusers until recent times but is now adopting a more rehabilitative approach. Malta further recognises the need to move from punishment to treatment with a view to future prevention.

For me, it was affirming that the Irish Probation Service is a forerunner in many aspects of best practice, particularly with regard to the assessment and management of sex offenders and domestic abusers. I believe we can make a make a positive contribution to learning and practice development across Europe through this expert group. While we are a small country, we have a large role to play in working with our international partners.

Our task as a GBV expert group is now to develop a work plan which will be implemented over the next three years. Ultimately, this will culminate in the development of resources which will be made available to all on the CEP website, through its newsletters and social media.

I am proud to be the voice of the Irish Probation Service on this CEP group and look forward to providing updates on future developments as the work progresses.

Slán agus Beannacht go léir!