Persefona

The Norwegian Foundation Against Sexual Abuse

The FMSO organization was established in 1999 and currently includes 18 of the 22 Regional Centers for victims of incest, rape and sexual violence in Norway. Individual centers provide free services to victims of these wrongs and to their loved ones and represent a non-state addition to the health care system. The centers offer counseling by telephone, in person, through participation in self-help groups and other activities, such as, e.g., education activities and informational and preventive programs. The main ideology of those centers is to empower the users of these services to help themselves.

The activity of FMSO consists of interconnecting professionals, facilitating the exchange of experience and knowledge, and enhancing the quality of our member centers. FMSO represents the collective voice of all its participating centers in communications with authorities and the media and is also an advisory body to the Norwegian Governmnet on issues of rape and sexual abuse.

We collaborate with the FMSO organization on these projects:

Z labyrintu násilí / Escape from the Maze of Violence, implemented from 1 February 2015 – 31 October 2016. The Project is being supported by the Open Society Fund Prague from the Let’s Give (Wo)men a Chance programme, financed from Norway Grants.

Komplexní pomoc obětem domácího a sexuálního násilí a jejich blízkým / Comprehensive Aid to Victims of Domestic and Sexual Violence and Their Loved Ones, implemented from 1 August 2014 – 30 April 2016. Supported by a grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Grants. 

Activities of our partner and collaboration with them

Experts from the centers that are part of the FMSO umbrella organization are engaged in activities to improve the expertise of the Persefona association’s staff as well as that of other professionals working with victims of abuse and sexual violence in the Czech Republic.

Main activities:

1. Sharing good practices in working with victims of abuse, incest and sexual violence within the framework of professional internships by representatives of Persefona in Norway and visits paid by representatives of the FMSO to the Czech Republic;
2. Familiarizing professionals in the Czech Republic with the philosophy of empowerment and self-help and how to implement it in practice through the provision of services;
3. Familiarizing professionals in the Czech Republic with the care system available to victims of sexual violence in Norway, including the access it provides to health, judicial, police and social services.
4. Sharing the Norwegian experience in communicating with the media and how to present the topic of sexual violence;
5. Educational activities for professionals in the Czech Republic - meetings of the interdisciplinary team on the topic of sexual violence, presentation of good practices and experiences with coordinating the activities of multiple organizations and networking, a seminar on rape and working with trauma, and presentations to a round table on the treatment of violent persons.