“Violence against women and girls is one of the greatest challenges of our time, and we must continue to seek solutions,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on November 25 on International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. He noted during the quarantine, cases of domestic violence increased around the world, as many women could be locked up with their abuser and deprived of access to timely assistance.

In these conditions, the need for institutions to provide assistance to victims of violence increases. In Uzbekistan, the Republican Center for the Rehabilitation and Adaptation of Victims of Violence was established by a presidential decree on July 2, 2018 in order to improve the system of social rehabilitation and adaptation. Currently, there are 197 such centers in Uzbekistan. In January-September 2020, these centers received 14,849 cases. In 5796 cases, psychological assistance was provided, in 3680 - legal, in 503 cases, citizens received medical assistance, in 1553 other types of assistance were provided.

On November 30, in order to study international experience in combating violence against women and protecting victims of violence, a webinar on the topic “Effective support to victims of gender-based violence. Swedish experience and Insights for Uzbekistan ” was organized.

Webinar was organized by the Commission on Gender Equality of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Ministry of Support for Mahalla and Family in cooperation with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) within the framework of the project “Empowering women to participate in public administration and socio-economic life ”with the financial support of the Swedish government.

The webinar was attended by the employees of the Centers for Rehabilitation and Adaptation of Persons Victims of Violence and Prevention of Suicides (197 centers), the Ministry for Support of Mahalla and Family of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Uzbekistan (300 women inspectors), and other government agencies.

Mukaddam Rasulova, director of the Republican Center for Rehabilitation and Adaptation of Persons Victims of Violence and Prevention of Suicides, spoke

about how shelters work in Uzbekistan, what assistance they provide to victims of violence, how victims of violence are placed in rehabilitation centers. She also informed the participants about possible sources of funding for shelter activities.

Also, specialists and experts from Sweden on the protection of women's rights and work with victims of violence spoke at the webinar. They talked about the specifics of providing legal assistance to victims of violence, raising funds for the activities of shelters, and shared practical examples of working with victims of gender-based violence in Sweden.

Expert on women's rights and protection of the Association of Shelters for Women Victims of Violence (UNIZON) Maria Björsson introduced the participants to the types of shelters in Sweden, how victims of violence seek help, coordinating the activities of all shelters across the country and organized teamwork in them. She also noted that in Sweden, local authorities are obliged by law to provide assistance and protection to women and children who have been victims of violence.

Sanna Knutsson, a lawyer on gender-based violence, spoke about how cooperation between a lawyer and a shelter should take place, what responsibilities lawyers have in providing legal assistance to victims of violence and what terms are used to define the types of violence in Sweden. She also introduced the participants to the legal framework for combating gender-based violence in Sweden.

Participants learned about the importance of measuring the risk and level of violence, documenting injuries, and keeping data. Sanna Knutsson also noted that the victim of violence should be connected with a lawyer at the earliest stages of her stay in the shelter.

Maja Lofstrom, Program Assistant on Gender Mainstreaming at UNDP Uzbekistan, spoke about how the process of working with victims of violence in Sweden is organized, from victims contacting a hotline till ensuring their complete safety. During the presentation, the participants learned about the FREDA method, which is used to determine the level of danger for the victim. According to this method, a questionnaire is carried out with victims of violence and, on the basis of their answers, the type of assistance the victim of violence may need is determined.

At the end of the event, participants had discussions and received answers from specialists on their questions.