OSCE trains Bulgarian criminal justice practitioners on effective responses to gender-based violence
A four-day specialized training course on appropriate and effective responses to gender-based violence for Bulgarian criminal justice practitioners was held from 10 to 14 June 2019, in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
The course for police and prosecutors was organized by the Strategic Police Matters Unit of the OSCE’s Transnational Threats Department and is the third of a series of three national specialized training courses held as part of the regional project Effective Criminal Justice Strategies and Practices to Combat Gender-based Violence in Eastern Europe. The project is currently being implemented in Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania, and is financially supported by the European Union’s Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme (2014-2020) and the Governments of Germany and Austria.
Delivered by trainers who have previously completed the regional training-of-trainers course held in March under the same project, the training aimed at consolidating the skills and knowledge of first responder police officers and prosecutors to better meet the needs of victims of gender-based violence. This included recognizing the signs and signals of violence and referring them to specialized support services.
The course also explored how to adapt the attitude and behaviour of criminal justice practitioners towards victims and perpetrators of gender-based violence, to avoid secondary victimization.
Built on a victim- and rights-centred approach, the course promoted the EU legislation on the wide protection of victims of violence, and focused on localized scenarios based on real-life cases.
Following the course was a one-day workshop where judges and social workers joined the police officers and prosecutors. The workshop highlighted the importance of a co-ordinated and integrated approach when fighting gender-based violence cases. Participants strengthened their understanding of how improving co-operation across different agencies and interaction on gender-based violence cases can contribute to better meeting the needs of victims. They also discussed best practices that could significantly improve efforts to counter gender-based violence-related crimes.