On September 11-13, a seminar "Strengthening the Capacity of the System of Providing Comprehensive Support to Victims of Domestic and Gender-based Violence at the Local Level: the Role of Authorized Officials" was held in Svyatohirsk.

The seminar was attended by 70 representatives of the structural units for the family and youth of cities, districts and local communities of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, who are empowered at local level to coordinate response to gender-based and domestic violence.

During the seminar participants discussed the current situation with the state policy and legislation in the field of prevention and response to domestic and gender-based violence, analyzed real situations of domestic violence in the context of establishing interaction between the key actors of response, identified their role in this interaction, sought new methods of carrying out awareness work in this area in cooperation with the media and NGOs, talked about the progress of implementation of special programs for perpetrators and the role of the police.

The most active was the discussion on the current status and prospects of development of specialized services for victims of violence, such as mobile teams of social and psychological assistance, shelters and day care centers, as well as the implementation of programs for perpetrators in the cities, districts and amalgamated territorial communities (ATCs) of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Both oblasts have piloted the provision of specialized services for the victims in Ukraine, and now considerable efforts are being made both at the oblast and local level to institutionalize and expand the relevant services network.

The event was organized by the Department of Family, Youth and Mass Events of National and Patriotic Education of Donetsk Oblast State Administration, the Social Protection Department of Luhansk Oblast State Administration, and the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine with the support of the UN Recovery and Peacebuilding Program.

The UN Recovery and Peacebuilding Program is being implemented by four UN agencies: the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the UN Entity for Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment (UN Women), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The program is supported by ten international partners: the European Union, the European Investment Bank, as well as the governments of Denmark, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and Japan.