Newsletter July 2020- November 2020
The MARISSA project is a 2-year (2020-2022) transnational project, co-funded by the EU in the framework of ‘Rights, Equality and Citizenship’ (REC) – DG Justice Programme, that aims to address the phenomenon of co-occurring Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) victimization and Problematic Substance Use (PSU). Existing victim support programmes fail to address the scenario of addicted victims of IPV because the two elements (IPV and PSU) are treated separately, while it would be necessary to be approached under a common protocol. MARISSA will contribute to advancing the capacity of professionals and promoting multi-agency collaboration in the field of IPV and PSU through the development and testing of a comprehensive training manual.
MARISSA News
Due to the COVID-19 crisis and limitations on travel, the kick-off meeting took place online, on ZOOM platform.

The meeting took place on 6 & 7 of July 2020, with the participation of all partners’ representatives.
• During the first day (06/07/2020) of the Steering Committee meeting, the discussion focused on the presentation of project partners, Management, Financial and Administrations issues as well as on the general description of the project.
• During the second day (07/07/20200 of the Steering Committee meeting, the discussion focused on the details of each Work Package of the project.
Introducing MARISSA Partners
The project team consists of 6 partners in 3 European countries, representing different cultural, social and economic settings. The partners were selected based on their experience and expertise relevant to the project concept: Expertise on gender based violence and relevant interventions; Expertise on violence and addictions; Impact Assessment; Dissemination at the national and/or EU level.
The University of Tartu, Johan Skytte Institute (UT, Estonia).
Women’ s Support and Information Centre (WSIC, Estonia)
RIKK – Institute for Gender, Equality and Difference at the University of Iceland
The Root – Association on Women, Trauma and Substance Use
UoC – University of Crete – Psychology Department (Greece)
UWAH – Union of Women Associations of Heraklion Prefecture (Greece)
Covid-19: Stay Home, Stay Safe, Save Lives?
Stay Home, Stay Safe, Save Lives? After a second lockdown coming into force for many countries, societies have to deal again with a possible increase in cases of Intimate Partner Violence. Although IPV is not caused by lockdown measures, evidence indicates that they may increase the incidence rate and/or the severity of IPV in households where it is already being perpetrated. Preventing and responding to IPV in times of humanitarian crises is a vital but challenging endeavor.
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The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the MARISSA project and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Union.
