As part of the RISKFREE project, we organised a meeting to exchange experiences in the protection of women experiencing violence between intervention centres for victims of domestic violence, police and child protection authority from different regions of Slovakia.
The main aim of the event was to inform the participants about the RISKFREE project and present its main outcomes and outputs. At the same time, the national event served the purpose of facilitating a more in-depth discussion among the relevant professionals on safety of women – survivors of intimate partner violence and their children using specific outputs from the project. The meeting was held in a hybrid format with 41 participants.
The first part of the national event was dedicated to presentation of the project and its main outcomes and outputs, out of which we presented the survey with women focusing on their experience with various institutions and professions when seeking help and protection from violence, as well as risk assessment tool in more detail. We also presented the campaign carried out in the project and the campaign video.
Next we, together with the participants, briefly summarized the responsibilities of their respective institutions and organisations specifically related to the victim protection legislation, including risk assessment, to set the framework for further discussion.
This was followed by a discussion and exchange of experience with risk assessment in cases of intimate partner violence against women and their children.
Last but not least, the final part of the national event was focused on the experience with protective and barring orders courts issue. This discussion included exchange related to differences in the practice of courts and other relevant institutions in different regions of Slovakia. As protection of children is also a part of ensuring safety of women, the exchange of experience also touched upon the issue of child custody and visitation rights proceedings.
Project “Protection of victims of gender-based violence – response to pandemic challenges (RISKFREE)” is financed by the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme (CERV) of the European Commission.
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