| On 12-14 February 2008, the Bulgarian Gender Research Foundation and The Advocates for Human Rights, with the support of the Oak Foundation, the Open Society Institute’s Human Rights and Governance Program, and the Bulgarian Fund for Women, sponsored a Regional Conference on Legal Reform on Domestic Violence in Sofia, Bulgaria. The goal of the conference was to strengthen the capacity of NGOs, advocates and government officials to create and implement domestic violence laws that promote safety for victims and their children and accountability for violent offenders.
Presenters at the conference provided expert consultation and a forum for discussion on drafting effective domestic violence laws, strategies for ensuring passage of these laws in parliament, and strategies for promoting implementation of laws in a way that best protects victim safety and ensures offender accountability.
The conference discussions, presentations and materials were based on the principles outlined in the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women including the following:
[V]iolence against women constitutes a violation of the rights and fundamental freedoms of women and impairs or nullifies their enjoyment of those rights and freedoms. . .
[V]iolence against women is a manifestation of historically unequal power relations between men and women, which have led to domination over and discrimination against women by men and to the prevention of the full advancement of women, and that violence against women is one of the crucial social mechanisms by which women are forced into a subordinate position compared with men . . .
Participants from 29 countries, including Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgzystan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Morocco, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovakia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and the USA attended.
The following is a compilation of training materials and presentations provided by conference participants:
Laws and Regulations
Background Information on Domestic Violence
Police Materials
Judicial Materials
Prosecutor Materials
Monitoring Reports
- International Standards on Domestic Violence and Their Implementation in the Western Balkans, Vesna Nikolic-Ristanovic and Mirjana Dokmanovic (2006)
- Ending Domestic Violence in Southeast Europe and Turkey: Towards a Regional Strategy for Action, UNIFEM Central and Eastern Europe (2007)
- Firearms Possession and Domestic Violence in the Western Balkans: A Comparative Study of Legislation and Implementation Mechanisms, SEESAC, UNDP (2007)
- Combating Domestic Violence: Ukrainian and International Experience, H. Fedkovych, I. Trokhym, М. Chumalo (2007)
- The Monitoring of using legal protecion mechanisms with respect to the law on "Prevention of the Domestic Violence, Protection and Assistance of the Victims of the Domestic Violence," Georgian Young Lawyers Association, (September 2006 – June 2007)
- Report on Domestic Violence Cases in Kosovo, OSCE and UNMIK (2007)
- Kyrgyz Republic Shadow Report on the Realization of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, Women's NGOs of the Kyrgyz Republic (2007)
- Domestic Violence and Child Abuse in Georgia: An Assessment of Current Standings of Law and Practice Regarding Domestic Abuse and Child Abuse in Georgia, and Recommendations for Future United Nations Country Team Involvement,The Advocates for Human Rights (2006)
Presentations
- Human Rights Monitoring, Documenting Domestic Violence as a Human Rights Violation, Robin Phillips, USA
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- Monitoring the Implementation of New Domestic Violence Laws, Mirjana Dokmanovic, Serbia
- Albanian Law "On Measures against Violence in Family Relations, Monika Kocaqi, Albania
- Armenian Laws and Their Implementation, Gayane Mkrtchyan, Armenia
- The Bulgarian Law on Protection against Domestic Violence, Albena Koycheva, Bulgaria
- Police of the Czech Republic: Brno Headquarters, Vladimir Vedra, Czech Republic
- Implementing Domestic Violence Laws, Anna Horinova, Czech Republic
- Domestic Violence in Criminal Law in Hungary: A Case in Worst Practice or Just a Long Beginning of the Road, Judit Wirth, Hungary
- Legislation on Domestic Violence: Problems and Possibilities in Adjudication, Agnes Galadja, Hungary
- Short Presentation of the Relevant Legal Regulations
on Domestic Violence in Hungary, Agnes Galadja, Hungary
- The UN CEDAW Convention and Domestic Violence: Letters and Practice, Eniko Pap, Hungary
- Passing and Amending Domestic Violence Laws in Parliament: An NGO's Experience, Inete Ielite, Latvia
- Legislative Framework on Domestic Violence in Macedonia, Marija Gelevska, Macedonia
- Drafting Domestic Violence Laws, Sylwia Spurek, Poland
- Monitoring the Implementation of Laws against Domestic Violence: The Romanian Case and the Regional Context, Raluca Maria Popa, Romania
- Russian Federation: Current Law Situation, Marina Pislakova, ANNA
- Criminal Legislation and Practice in Serbia, Diana Miladinovic, Serbia
- Domestic Violence and Criminal Law in Ukraine, Halyna Fedkovych, Ukraine
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