Violence awareness for neighborhoods. Vinnytsia

The initiative Police and Community: #РазомПротиНасильства (TogetherAgainstViolence) was implemented by the "Bureau of Institutional Development" non-for-profit organization, Patrol Police of Vinnytsia region, and the Vinnytsia City Council with the support of the Canada-Ukraine Police Development Project (CUPDP) financed by the Global Affairs of Canada.

The purpose of the initiative was to increase the knowledge of locals residing on Kosmonavtiv Avenue on ways to identify and self-identify various forms of domestic violence, especially violence against women with children, learn steps to stop it and support survivors, and to promote the culture of zero tolerance to violence in the community.

Objectives:

  1. To increase general understanding among the residents of Kosmonavtiv Avenue about domestic violence aspects and ways to stop it, identify the survivors and promote zero tolerance to violence;
  2. Increase awareness among the survivors: women, women with children, and their circles of the personal safety plan and the ways to act in the cases of domestic violence;
  3. Contribute to increasing the competencies of duty bearers' experts and local activists regarding the psychological features of women and children survivors, as well as ways to establish high-quality communication and trusting relations with them;
  4. Establish a team of activists comprising local residents and subject-matter experts to implement joint activities towards preventing domestic violence in the selected city area. Strengthen cooperation between the police and the community of the district to address issues related to the prevention of domestic violence.

Outcomes:

  • Improved cooperation between the police, the city government, and the active citizens around the issues of awareness raising and support for domestic violence survivors
  • Increased efficiency of referrals and support for victims
  • Increased knowledge of participants of the project and selfdefense courses, as well as improved public trust in law enforcement agencies
  • Identified issues related to combating domestic violence for further resolution.