Police-public partnership to tackle domestic violence in Armenia discussed with OSCE support

A two-day workshop bringing together various state institutions and organizations dealing with issues of domestic violence was held on 7 and 8 August 2014 at the initiative of the ‘Social Justice’ NGONGO
non-governmental organization with the support from the OSCE Office in Yerevan.

The event is part of a project to develop police-public partnership model and promote co-operation to address domestic violence. It seeks to improve the response capabilities of the Police Department of Domestic Violence and Juvenile Issues, and thus to contribute to reducing domestic violence.

The meeting participants looked at the international experiences of responding to domestic violence cases and discussed a suitable model for Armenia.

The meeting was attended by representatives of the Armenian Police Department of Domestic Violence and Juvenile Issues and Community Policing Units as well as institutions advocating children's rights, NGOs, community and government agencies providing social support, and international organizations. The project started this March this year and will run until November 2014. It aims to foster co-operation among the state and non-governmental institutions in several districts in Yerevan and in the town of Vanadzor.