Tajikistan, with the support of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, is holding a week-long training to educate police officers on the issues involved with working with victims of domestic violence.
The twenty officers involved in the inaugural training, from the cities of Dushanbe, Kurgan Tube, Kulyab and Khujand, are to become part of specialized domestic violence units established under the State Program on Gender Equality after a March 2010 Interior Ministry decision.
General Tahir Normatov, Head of the Organizational and Inspection Department of the Interior Ministry, noted that the trainings will also be included in the curriculum of the Interior Ministry Police Academy. Officers will develop skills to more effectively investigate and prosecute domestic violence cases in addition to being trained to refer victims to relevant official and community resources. The training, led by two Turkish and United States law enforcement officers, will also cover the importance of using gender-sensitive and democratic police methods and the value of encouraging cooperation between crisis centers and civil society. Finally, the training will provide background information on the social and cultural roots of domestic and gender-based violence.
General Normatov, speaking of the importance of the specialized course, noted, “Domestic violence is a global problem, and an acute problem in our country.”