Training program on family violence and violence against women in Podgorica

On 28^th and 29^th of November 2016, NGO Women’s Rights Center in association with Ministry for human and minority rights organized a Training about family violence and violence against women in Podgorica.

The goal of the program is to support the process of establishing sustainable and efficient system of protection and support to victims of family violence and violence against women by supporting judicial institutions in implementation of international standards and national legislation in this area. The focus of the program was on the Council of Europe’s Convention on preventing family violence and violence against women (Istanbul convention), a comprehensive and legally binding international document in the area of family violence and violence against women.

During the two-day seminar, the participants were introduced with the forms, dynamics and consequences of family violence, and were able to complete their knowledge on state’s obligations in accordance with ratified international documents and national legislation, as well as to present the acquired knowledge through practice in smaller groups – with case analysis, after which they discussed the best practices of institutions in cases of violence. This educational program was established on the basis of the concept and methodology of NGO Women’s Rights Center, based on the long-term experience in working with victims as well as on the results of the research on perception within judiciary about gender-based violence and family violence, which was jointly conducted by NGO Women’s Rights Center and UNDP in 2015, and supported by Ministry for human and minority rights. The program was further developed in the process of intensive consultations with representatives of judiciary and other relevant institutions and individuals with expert knowledge on family violence and violence against women.