OSCE training courses strengthens police response to violence against women and girls in North Macedonia

From 18 to 24 September, the OSCE’s Transnational Threats Department held a series of four one-day training courses on gender-responsive policing of violence against women and girls in Idrizovo, North Macedonia.

A total of 505 police cadets (150 women, 355 men) from the Police Training Center learned how to effectively respond to cases of violence against women and girls while maintaining a victim-/survivor-centred approach.

The training courses covered topics such as the definitions of key terms and concepts; the importance of the victim-centred approach; reporting and the role of the police in detecting and preventing gender-based violence; implementing protective measures and conducting risk assessments; the neurobiology of trauma; and the psychology of victims and perpetrators.

“Gender-based violence (GBV) is a serious crime that police officers need to handle in a way that protects and supports the victims. When the police succeed in doing that, it builds vital trust among the public and the authorities,” said OSCE Project Manager Bjorn Tore Saltvik. He underlined that all police officers need to be trained to provide an appropriate response, while holding the perpetrators accountable.

During the training course, the Centre for Youth Education (CEM) from Bosnia and Herzegovina, performed the role-play ‘Lullaby Goodbye’, based on the true story of a teenage girl who was exploited online which had a devastating effect on her life. The role-play also represented testimonies of numerous victims of this growing form of gender-based violence.

In addition, all police cadets attended a screening of the film “Domestic Violence”, which is produced by the International Association Chiefs of Police and highlights experiences from several real GBV cases in the U.S.

The training course and film-screening were organized in co-ordination with the OSCE Mission to Skopje and the Police Training Center, and took place under the “Enhancing Criminal Justice Capacities for Combating Gender-based Violence in South-Eastern Europe” project, which is funded by Austria, Germany, Finland, France, Italy and Norway.