The Liepāja branch of the association “Centrs MARTA” in cooperation with the State Police, Liepāja Municipal Police, Liepāja City Council Social Service and Liepāja City Orphan’s Court have agreed to pilot a model of inter-institutional cooperation to find the best solutions in the fight against domestic violence in Liepāja. The aim of inter-institutional co-operation is to offer and provide assistance to victims of domestic violence who have come to the attention of the State Police or Liepāja Municipality Police following police calls.

Police officers, in response to suspicions of domestic violence, will fill in a report on the incident, which will be sent to Liepaja City Council Social Service and Center MARTA the next working day, which will immediately contact the victim and offer counseling and other assistance from a social worker, psychologist and lawyer. In cases where the victim of domestic violence is a child, a police report will be sent to the Liepāja City Orphan’s Court to ensure the child’s rights and interests.

This week, throughout the week, more than 80 employees of Liepāja Municipal Police and the State Police will participate in trainings on the victim’s thinking and action in a crisis situation and the formation of a safe conversation with the victim, as well as on the use of the incident report.

In turn, on 13.08.2019, the employees of the Social Service of Liepāja City Council, Liepāja City Orphan’s Court and the Center MARTA will participate in trainings on the first contact with the victim in a crisis situation and communication with the victim after a police call.

The pilot project will start on August 14 and will last for one month. After the implementation of the pilot project, the involved institutions will evaluate it and decide on further changes in institutional cooperation in Liepaja.

“In Latvia, one third of women have experienced physical violence by their husbands or partners at least once in their lifetime. 60% of women have experienced psychological abuse. But unfortunately, most of these women do not seek help from the police and other institutions because they are ashamed of what has happened, are intimidated and do not believe that the situation can be changed. Consequently, the responsibility for combating domestic violence rests with the responsible authorities, who must work together to find solutions to effectively protect and provide assistance to victims of violence and to encourage women who do not wish to seek help. The experience of other cities in Latvia shows that the transfer of information to service providers after police calls increases the number of victims who receive assitance. I see that after the implementation of the pilot project we will be able to implement it as a permanent practice in Liepaja, ”says Juris Dilba, the head of the Liepāja branch of the Center MARTA.