CEINAV – Cultural encounters in interventions against violence
Društvo Ključ is an associate partner in the CEINAV project, which is implemented in Slovenia by the Peace Institute (Mirovni Inštitut).
The project addresses cultural encounters and tensions in measures and policies against violence – covering the areas of ethics, law, and citizenship. The core focus is on the rights of women and children, specifically their right to be protected from violence. It examines the role of culture in national legal and institutional mechanisms that influence intervention practices against violence, and the growing cultural diversity in European countries, where symbolic boundaries of cultural identity may form the basis for social inclusion or exclusion.
The research is being conducted in four EU countries – Germany, Portugal, Slovenia, and the United Kingdom – with an emphasis on the different approaches that states take in their protective roles (as reflected in laws, political practices, and social mechanisms). These approaches are contextualized through the histories of colonialism, democracy, migration, and diversity.
The research aims, on one hand, to explore why intervention practices and their justifications differ so significantly between countries, despite a clear European consensus on ending violence against women and protecting children. On the other hand, it examines how policies and institutional practices that aim to ensure “the best interests of the child” and freedom and safety for women can develop in different ways and have diverse impacts on marginalized minorities in each country.
In consultation with eleven associate partners from among experts and interest groups, the project focuses on three types of violence where state responsibility is well established: domestic violence, child abuse, and trafficking in human beings for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Through paradigm stories analyzed in-depth with professionals involved in interventions, the project reveals both implicit and explicit discursive constructions and normative representations. Exploring the perspectives of interest groups working with migrant and minority women and children helps uncover implicit tensions related to specific groups, thereby enriching the discussion on multiculturalism and diversity.
The project also gives voice to women and children who have personally experienced violence and social intervention. By collecting their stories and involving them in a creative artistic process, the project aims to uncover the potential of both narrative and visual representation to stimulate the imagination needed to truly hear diverse voices and understand what it means to be a victim. Artist-researchers in all four countries will develop creative and artistic approaches and aesthetic education as tools to amplify silenced voices and produce materials that can be used in change-making processes.
With innovative methodological approaches and research grounded in theory and creative synergy, the project acts as a mediator between research, policy analysis, and practice. It analyzes ethical questions of rights and discrimination to clarify the consequences of European norms and protective practices, taking into account diverse and intersecting structures of power and oppression. It aims to shape an intersectional approach to intervention that recognizes the voice and agency of victims. In addition to a collection of research articles and video materials (including a film), the project will produce a document outlining ethical foundations for responsible action.
More about the project:
