Stronger responses to sexual and gender-based violence in focus at OSCE/ODIHR training course for Ukrainian police educators and officers
Effective responses to sexual and gender-based violence was the topic of a train-the-trainers course in Odessa that brought together police educators and officers from all over Ukraine on 1 and 2 December 2016.
Thirty instructors from five educational institutions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and officers from the National Police took part in the course conducted by the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the European Union Advisory Mission to Ukraine (EUAM) in co-operation with La Strada Ukraine International Women's Rights Center.
“No matter whether violence happens at home, in places of detention or during an armed conflict, it is always a source of instability in a given society and an indicator of its state of health,” said Graziella Pavone, ODIHR Human Rights Officer. “Immediate and competent responses help prevent future violence and maintain trust in the authorities.”
The course aimed to increase awareness among educators, strengthen the capacity of investigators to identify, detect and prosecute gender based violence and to integrate the knowledge into their day-to-day work to spread it further. They will report on their progress in six months.
“The needs of victims of sexual and gender-based violence need to be addressed at all stages of the criminal investigation and from multiple institutional angles in order to bring about justice and accountability,” said Soren Sonderstrup, Gender Adviser at the EUAM.
Elena Kovalyova, Head of the Gender Education Centre at the Odessa State University of Internal Affairs, hosting the event, said: “The course is a very timely initiative empowering those with educational roles in our system, so that the knowledge can be disseminated further in all educational institutions in the country.”
The event contributes to the implementation of Ukraine’s National Action Plan on UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, peace and security.