Between 28 and 29 January, with the assistance of the Swedish Government and the OSCE, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) organised a regional workshop titled “Responding to violence against women; the role of the police” for the members of the Ministry of Interior and senior police officers from Belarus and Moldova in Minsk.
At the invitation of UNFPA, the OSCE Mission in Kosovo provided an international expert on domestic abuse, stalking, harassment and honour based violence (DASH), who along with an international expert from the Austrian police provided a number of presentations to some 30 delegates from both countries.
High ranking police officers from these countries also delivered presentations on how domestic abuse was addressed in their respective countries and discussions held reflected the complexity involved in dealing with domestic abuse issues.
As a result, a number of recommendations were drawn, which the delegates will take back to their respective police and ministerial institutions with the intention of using the information gathered to increase their levels of proficiency and expertise in this area.