Aflið traveled to East Iceland in March to introduce the organization’s activities, which are available on the court. We place great emphasis on serving survivors of violence not depending on their place of residence.
In September 2022, the municipalities of Múlaþing and Fjarðabyggð signed an agreement with Aflið for regular services for survivors of violence in East Iceland. The purpose of the trip was to make the activities more visible, because many people do not have them but need them. Survivors in rural areas often have limited access to resources, but then their place of residence should not determine how far a person has to travel to meet a professional or seek shelter from violence.
We have seen that the number of people seeking help increases when the service is available in an area. This indicates that proximity to resources is crucial when it comes to receiving assistance. With the visit to East Iceland, we wanted to get closer to the people.
Currently, only one counselor from Aflið has a regular presence in Egilsstaðir and Reyðarfjörður, but our service is for everyone in East Iceland and we are now working on recruiting two new counsellors to make the service both more accessible and offer people to choose which counsellor they see as individuals in Akureyri.
Aflið’s staff met with, among others, the Family Department of Múlaþing in Egilsstaðir, the Family Department of Fjarðabyggð in Reyðarfjörður, the East Iceland Police Chief in Eskifjörður and the Fjórðungssýkrahús in Neskaupsstaður, where interesting and topical discussions took place. Everyone welcomed us and there was great interest in the presentation of the activities.
The visit was very enjoyable and the Force thanks them for the warm welcome.
