Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. Trainings for management level police officers on the application of a victim-centered approach in responding to domestic violence cases were conducted on October 29 and November 5 in Ulaanbaatar in the framework of the "Strengthening the Response to Gender-based Violence in Mongolia” (2019- 2022) Project that is implemented by IDLO Mongolia with financial support from the Government of Canada provided through Global Affairs Canada.

The training was a collaboration between the Project and the National Police Agency (NPA) with the aim of enhancing a victim-centered approach in the police procedure for responding to domestic violence cases. Forty-six management-level police officers from investigation department and public order protection department attended the training which was facilitated by experienced justice sector trainers from National Police Agency, General Prosecutor’s Office and the Judicial General Council.

Since the adoption of Domestic violence legislation three years ago, a practice was set by law enforcement in dealing with domestic violence cases. It was important for the management of the police who oversee the domestic violence complaints, investigation and protection of victims to take into consideration on how prosecutors and judges are resolving domestic violence cases. An important and novel component of this training were sessions by key civil society actors on the benefit of cooperating with civil society to provide protection to victims.

National Center Against Violence NGO shared their experience in providing victim centered services to victims and how to improve police response in collaboration with NGOs. Christina Noble Foundation NGO shared best practices of victim centered response to abused children in the family and how referral can be done to CSOs working in this field. CSOs often represent children in the criminal proceedings.

According to a 2017 study by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the National Statistics Office, 57.9% of Mongolian women who are married or in an intimate partnership experienced domestic violence in their lifetimes. The study also found that 35% of ever-partnered women reported experiencing domestic violence in the last year. The passage in 2017 of a new domestic violence law shed light on the extent of this problem and provided increased remedies for victims.

IDLO is dedicated to empowering women and girls and ensuring gender equality through the rule of law. IDLO currently implements projects in several countries to combat discriminatory laws, develop gender-responsive legal and institutional frameworks, enhance women’s access to justice, and increase women’s empowerment through sustainable development and economic opportunities.

For more information on IDLO in Mongolia, see here: www.idlo.int/where-we-work/asia/mongolia or Project Facebook page: @IDLOmongol.