OSCE and Institute of Police Education at Swedish Linnaeus University conduct train-the-trainer course on effective responses to gender-based violence for Bulgarian, Hungarian and Romanian officials

A four-day train-the-trainer course on appropriate and effective responses to gender-based violence for officials from Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania was held from 25 to 29 March 2019, at the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) Headquarters in Budapest, Hungary.

The course was organized by the OSCE’s Transnational Threats Department/Strategic Police Matters Unit, in partnership with the Swedish Institute of Police Education at Linnaeus University and in co-ordination with the OSCE Gender Section. The four-day course for police and prosecutors was followed by a one-day workshop where judges and social workers joined in.

Delivered by experts from the Institute, the course aimed at consolidation of soft skills, mutual learning, identification and exchange of good practices and working methods, including referral methods, which are transferable to other countries.

Built on a victim- and rights-centred approach, the course promoted the EU-legislation on wide protection of victims of violence. The process focused on localized scenarios based on real-life cases.

Complementary to the course, the one-day workshop highlighted the importance of a co-ordinated and integrated approach when fighting gender-based violence cases. The workshop strengthened the participants’ understanding of how improving multidisciplinary co-operation and interaction on gender-based violence cases can contribute to better meeting the needs of victims and highlighted best practices that could significantly improve the ability to counter gender-based violence crimes.

The 23 participants in the course from interior ministries, police academies and schools and general prosecutor’s offices, together with the 9 additional participants in the adjacent workshop from the regional courts and victim support services of the three beneficiary countries, will transfer the acquired knowledge and skills in a series of national specialized courses to be organized by the OSCE in Hungary, from 6 to10 May, in Romania, from 27 to 31 May and in Bulgaria, from 10 to 14 June.

The OSCE commended the excellent gender balance of the group of trainers and participants at the workshop, with a total of 16 male and 16 female.

The project titled “Effective Criminal Justice Strategies and Practices to Combat Gender-based Violence in Eastern Europe” is financially supported by the European Union’s Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme (2014-2020) and the government of Austria.