BIG e.V.

Brief history

BIG was founded in 1995 by women and men working in projects against domestic violence (DV) in Berlin. It ran as a national model project until 2001 and throughout this period was supported by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth as well as by the Berlin Department of Labor, Women and Social Affairs.

The project's aims included:

  • Developing a framework which guarantees extensive protection and sufficient support for women and their children
  • Strengthening the rights and legal status of abused women
  • Ensuring that society outlaws violence and its perpetrators
  • Holding the perpetrators responsible for their deeds, e.g. through the police taking violent men into custody and/or through legal stipulations under civil law and sanctions under criminal law
  • Providing information about male violence against women and establishing preventive work
  • Practicing and elucidating coordinated action on the part of all participating institutions against domestic violence

To further these goals a coordination unit was established. Interdisciplinary and focus groups worked out directives, proposals for laws and information materials.