STRENGTHENING THE CAPACITY OF STATE BODIES AND LOCAL LEVEL REFERRAL MECHANISMS TO PROVIDE SAFETY AND SUPPORT TO VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN AZERBAIJAN

STRENGTHENING THE CAPACITY OF STATE BODIES AND LOCAL LEVEL REFERRAL MECHANISMS TO PROVIDE SAFETY AND SUPPORT TO VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN AZERBAIJAN

More information about the project: https://bit.ly/3rCLXmg

From September 1, 2020, together with partners from Azerbaijan, Austria, and Lithuania, the Institute of Law of the Lithuanian Center for Social Sciences started implementing the European Union (hereinafter - EU) funded Twinning program project „Strengthening the capacity of State bodies and local level referral mechanisms to provide safety and support to victims of domestic violence in Azerbaijan“ No. AZ/16/ENI/JH/01/19 (55).

According to 2015 World Bank evaluation on access to justice in Azerbaijan, there is evidence of significant gender disparities, few victims report gender-based violence to police and therefore existing data regarding gender-based violence does not reflect comprehensive situation on the ground. Legal protection and support for victims of domestic violence is an area of attention addressed in the EU adopted Annual Action Programme (AAP) 2016 for Azerbaijan. The AAP 2016 foresees an increase of legal protection, safety and support for women, providing training to the stakeholders, and ensuring respect for victims' rights.
The aim of the project – to strengthen the competen-cies and inter-agency cooperation mechanisms of Azerbaijans' state and local institutions to ensure the safety and support of victims of domestic violence, based on the best practices of the European Union countries and recommendations of international organizations.
In this context, the project aims to strengthen the competencies of the staff of state and local institutions in Azerbaijan and the mechanisms of inter-agency cooperation in the fight against domestic violence. Police officers, judges, and social workers will be provided with training on identifying signs of domestic violence, risk assessment criteria and other topics. Also, following EU standards, special training for social workers, judges and the media to develop and implement a public awareness campaign on the negative effects of violence on society is planned.
 

The project includes the following activities:

1. Development of efficient legal policy for the full implementation of the Law on Prevention of Domestic Violence (Component 1):

  • result 1.1.  – enhanced legal status of Domestic Violence Monitoring Groups (MGs);
  • result 1.2.  – enabled legal environment for further criminalization of domestic violence.

2. Strengthening the institutional capacities of the State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs (SCFWCA) and MGs strengthened (Component 2):

  • result 2.1.  – National Referral Mechanism for victims of domestic violence established;
  • result 2.2.  – Mechanism on legal and psychological assistance for victims of domestic violence established;
  • result 2.3.  – Rehabilitation programme of perpetrators developed.

3. Conducting campaign to raise awareness of general public (Component 3):

  • result 3.1.  – Awareness of general public raised.

The project is implemented by the State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, together with cooperating institutions: Ministry of Social Security and Labour of the Republic of Lithuania (managing partner), Law Institute of the Lithuanian Center for Social Sciences, Vilnius University Faculty of Law, European Social Fund Agency, and the Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft - Institute of Human Rights (junior partner).

During the Twinning project, a number of research outputs and methodological toos were produced: they are presented here.

The research results were presented at scientific and public events and in various publications:
  • 12 January 2022, international conference “Strengthening the capacity of State bodies and local level referral mechanisms to provide safety and support to victims of domestic violence in Azerbaijan”;
  • Savchenko, I.O.; Babych, S.L.; Uscila, Rokas. Some issues on forensic psychological examination of victims enduring domestic violence // Theory and Practice of Forensic Science and Criminalistics. Kharkiv: Pravo. ISSN 1993-0917. eISSN 2708-5171. 2021, 22, p.538-554. DOI: 10.32353/khrife.2.2020. 


Twinning program project No. AZ / 16 / ENI / JH / 01/19 (55) is funded by the European Union under the European Neighborhood Instrument for East Countries (ENI).

Duration of the project: 2020-09-01–2022-01-31.

Total budget: 1 000 000 EUR.

Institution of the Republic of Azerbaijan receiving EU support – State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Project Partners: