On May 15-16, 2019 in Mariupol, the regional forum "Interaction of stakeholders in the field of gender-based and domestic violence prevention and response in Donetsk oblast: enhancing coordination and efficiency of service provision" was held.

Almost 180 participants took an active part in the forum activities. Among them, 56 deputy chairmen and representatives of the family affairs departments of district state administrations, executive bodies of city councils and councils of ATCs of Donetsk oblast, 47 heads and deputy chiefs of the National Police departments in Donetsk oblast, 24 representatives of regional and local centers of social services for family, children and youth of Donetsk oblast, 25 representatives of regional structures involved in preventing and combating domestic and gender-based violence, as well as 24 representatives of international and local NGOs attended the event.

The event was opened with meaningful presentations, then proceeding to a questions and answers session,  where Vadym Filashkin, Deputy Head of the Donetsk Oblast State Administration, Nataliya Fedorovych, Deputy Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine, Liliya Zolkina, Head of the Department of Family, Youth and Mass National and Patriotic Education Activities of Donetsk Oblast State Administration, Vasyl Ostapchuk, Deputy Chief of the Main Department of Internal Affairs of the Donetsk Oblast, Stepan Makhsma, Secretary of the Mariupol City Council, Pavlo Zamostyan, Deputy Representative of UNFPA in Ukraine.

During the panel discussions on the first day, the best practices of the Donetsk oblast in the field of prevention and response to domestic and gender-based violence were presented and discussed. Discussions were conducted on the four key components of the GBV/DV response, namely the development of a system of services for victims, setting up interagency cooperation and coordination of efforts, work with offenders and holding them responsible, as well as fostering zero tolerance to violence in the region.

The second day started with work in 5 groups according to the territorial distribution, during which participants were able to determine the list of available general and specialized support services for victims in their constituencies, identify directions for strengthening interagency cooperation, and discuss the main problems and their responses to the GBV/DV response. The work of the groups was presented to all participants during the final part of the forum, and will be taken into account in the decision of the Panel of the Donetsk Oblast State Administration "On Implementation of the Basic Provisions of the Law of Ukraine "On Prevention and Response to Domestic Violence" in Donetsk oblast.

The Forum was initiated by the Department of Family, Youth and Mass National Patriotic Education Activities of Donetsk Oblast State Administration and was held with the support of the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine and in partnership with the Mariupol City Council. The event was sponsored by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) within the framework of the United Nations Recovery and Peacebuilding Program.

The United Nations Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme is being implemented by four United Nations agencies: the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

The Programme is supported by ten international partners: the European Union, the European Investment Bank and the governments of Canada, Denmark, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland.