OSCE Mission to Moldova prepares trainers to improve police response in domestic violence cases

On 27 and 28 September 2016, the OSCE Mission to Moldova held a training-of-trainers course for 25 law enforcement representatives from across the country on preventing and combating domestic violence. The event, held in Chisinau, was organized in co-operation with Moldova’s General Police Inspectorate.

The training course aimed to improve police officers’ response to domestic violence cases and, in particular, to equip them with the appropriate intervention techniques in order to interact appropriately with victims and de-escalate crisis situations. Participants also considered the importance of providing counselling to aggressors, as well as the effects of domestic violence on children.

The event took on specific significance following a legislative amendment introduced on 16 September 2016 that requires police officers to intervene in domestic violence situations and, if necessary, to issue protection orders and remove the aggressor if an imminent threat is established.

The training-of-trainers course was part of a three-phase cycle of training sessions for law enforcement representatives supported by the Mission. The participants have been selected from across Moldova in order to create a pool of future national trainers who will replicate the training and ensure the wider application of the skills learned.