OSCE trains Montenegrin police cadets to strengthen criminal justice responses to violence against women and girls

From 26 to 28 November, the OSCE Transnational Threats Department (TNTD), in collaboration with the OSCE Mission to Montenegro and the Montenegrin Police Academy, organized three training courses for police cadets in Danilovgrad. These courses focused on gender-responsive policing to address violence against women and girls with a victim-centred approach.

The training equipped 92 police cadets, comprising 58 men and 34 women, with the basic skills to handle cases of violence against women and girls with a heightened sensitivity for the trauma victims have endured, in some cases for many years on end.

"Today we are gathered with a common goal - to increase understanding, co-operation and capacity in the fight against gender-based violence, one of the most serious threats to modern society" said Nenad Vojinovic, Director of the Police Academy of Montenegro.

“Violence against women and girls remain an ongoing challenge in Montenegro” highlighted Stephen Harmon, Programme Manager at the OSCE Mission to Montenegro. “Over the past years, the OSCE Mission to Montenegro has actively supported efforts to combat gender-based violence by strengthening legal frameworks, improving victim support services and enhancing awareness as well as prevention strategies,” he added.

During the training, the Centre for Youth Education (CEM) from Bosnia and Herzegovina presented the play “Lullaby Goodbye”, a powerful dramatization inspired by the true story of a teenage girl who was a victim of online exploitation, which had devastating consequences on her life.

Police cadets also attended the screening of “Domestic Violence”, a film showcasing real-life examples of gender-based violence cases in the United States, produced by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP).

"In order to tackle violence against women and girls while maintaining a victim-centred approach, police officers need to be empathetic, and combine their heads with their hearts", said Bjorn Tore Saltvik, Adviser on Police Reform and project manager at the OSCE.

Over the past year, similar training courses were also held in Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia, and will be offered to young professionals in law enforcement in Albania and Serbia, further strengthening the fight against gender-based violence in South-Eastern Europe.

These training series are a part of the OSCE extra-budgetary project “Enhancing Criminal Justice Capacities for Combating Gender-based Violence in South-Eastern Europe” funded by Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Italy and Norway.