Public Justice Center of Chernihiv Region on combating domestic violence

On February 26, the Public Justice Center, which operates on the basis of the Ichnyan District Court of Chernihiv Oblast, hosted a roundtable discussion: “Establishing mechanisms for interaction between entities implementing measures to combat domestic violence.”

The roundtable was organized by the Chernihiv Public Committee for Human Rights Protection together with the Department of Family, Youth and Sports and the Service for Children of the Chernihiv Oblast State Administration, the Chernihiv Oblast Center for Social Services and the Juvenile Prevention Department of the Main Department of the Main Department of the National Police of Chernihiv Oblast, with the participation of representatives of the Ichnyan City Council, judges of the district court, representatives of the police and the Ichnyan Legal Aid Bureau.

The participants of the meeting emphasized that the activities of government bodies in the social sphere currently face a number of challenges: changes in the structure of bodies, transfer of powers to local communities within the framework of the decentralization reform, staff turnover, quarantine restrictions, etc.

In particular, the representative of the Department of Family, Youth and Sports of the Chernihiv Regional State Administration

Ruslana Nagorna

noted that the above problems are compounded by the lack of a multidisciplinary approach in communities – local coordination councils have not been created or have been created but do not function, that is, there is no coordination of all subjects on the ground, and there are no programs for perpetrators.

Deputy Head of the Children’s Service of the Chernihiv Regional State Administration

Yulia Olyfirenko

emphasized that cases of domestic violence against children are becoming significantly more frequent. But communities are having problems with detecting and identifying children who have suffered from domestic violence. At the same time, no such children have been officially identified in the Ichnyan community, although there are enough cases of domestic violence.

As noted by the head of the juvenile prevention department of the Department of Preventive Activities of the Main Police Department in Chernihiv region

Olga Pankratova

, law enforcement agencies are also in the process of reforming, and therefore many challenges arise in their work. The police representative focused on the issue of issuing urgent restraining orders, because practice shows that this is where the most difficulties arise. Police statistics show that the number of appeals regarding sexual violence increased significantly last year.

In turn, Yulia Vel’ko, a methodologist at the Chernihiv Regional Center for Social Services, drew the attention of those present to specific cases of domestic violence and bullying, their causes and consequences.

The head of the Ichnyanskyi district court of Chernihiv region

Tetyana Karapysh

and the judge-speaker

Andriy Vovchenko

focused on issues of judicial practice and those problems that may arise, in particular, the expiration of the deadlines for bringing to administrative responsibility, the frequent lack of complete and objective information about the situation with domestic violence. In addition, the head of the court emphasized the importance of using mediation and alternative methods of conflict resolution, as well as the importance of conducting preventive work.

“But in most cases, the most problematic thing is that even after bringing the offender to justice, the situation does not change,” summed up the meeting, a lawyer from the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights

Iryna Biryuk

. – In the past year, our organization has recorded an increase in appeals regarding cases of domestic violence. Often the crime lasts for years and the situation is not resolved in any way, and assistance to the victims is ineffective. In such cases, even an army of lawyers, human rights defenders, and social workers cannot help resolve the situation, because it is protracted and complex. That is why we must systematically approach the problem. Only a comprehensive approach can ensure the safety, accessibility, and quality of necessary services for victims of domestic violence, raise awareness of the issues of preventing and combating domestic violence and gender-based violence.

The activities of the Public Justice Center of Chernihiv Oblast are carried out with the support of the American people, provided through the .