A word from Bert Groen, the president of the EFJCA
January 14, 2026
The start of this new year gives us the opportunity to both look back and look forward.
December 2025 marked the end of our first 4-year European Operating Grant. A grant that gave us the unique opportunity to give our work a huge boost and develop activities to further strengthen the European network, providing support to existing and new FJCs and provide European professionals, policy makers and other stakeholders with the necessary knowledge and tools within the joint approach of gender-based violence and domestic violence. Together with our group of international experts we highlighted and shared multiple very imported topics like femicide, non-fatal strangulation and intimate terror & coercive control. We are proud and honored that we can and may work together with this group of experts and also with the supporting members in our EFJCA team.
There are 2 topics I would like to highlight. The FJC model was literally mentioned in one of the priorities of the EU Action Grant as an example for developing a multidisciplinary approach. Applicants were, among other things, advised to support the setting up of one-stop or coordinated specialist support centers like the model of the Family Justice Centers. For us this was a very important confirmation that the FJC model has been fully recognized by the EU.
Another development I would like to acknowledge are the efforts of our EFJCA Voices, a group of survivors of domestic violence, sexual violence, child abuse and other forms of gender-based violence who share their lived experience to create change. They are the ones who, like no other, can tell us professionals what survivors really need and whether we are doing the right interventions.
Through their enthusiasm and commitment, they inspire others and contribute directly to the development FJCs and other related multidisciplinary services. Their unique perspective strengthens professional practice, raises awareness, breaks taboos, and helps prevent (lethal) violence.
As EFJCA team, we are also very proud that we can continue most of our activities in the coming years thanks to the new EU grant for the next operating grant period (2026-2028). An important topic for this period is the development of a Guidance for a high-quality holistic coordinated multi-agency center of gender-based violence and domestic violence.
This Guidance will be developed based on research, the good practices in the existing centers, the Istanbul Convention and EU directive on combatting violence against women and domestic violence. The goal is a tool for the affiliation process of the FJCs and related centers to measure the quality of the holistic, trauma-informed, gender-based and client-central approach of centers.
Besides further strengthen the impressive work of the Voices in the FJCs we also continue with providing yearly small grants to our network partner organisations. A program that in our believe is a very strong and important tool to support the development, implementation, improvement and strengthening safe places in European countries for victims/survivors of gender-based violence and domestic violence.
I’m looking forward working together with all of you in the upcoming years in our joint journey to realize a safer world by eliminating gender-based violence and domestic violence as much as we can. I wish you a healthy and safe 2026!
Bert Groen