Global Technical Consultation on Essential Policing and Justice Sector Services to Respond to Violence Against Women and Girls

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1 Background 1-4 July 2014 Marrakesh, Morocco Global Technical Consultation on Essential Policing and Justice Sector Services to Respond to Violence Against Women and Girls Organized by UNWomen, UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund), UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) and UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) In May, the International Association of Women Police, through letter to President Townsley, was invited to attend a global consultation between 1st and 4th July 2014 in Morocco. The overall programme of work for the joint programme covered four key sectors/areas including the health sector; police and justice; social and other support services, and coordination and governance of an integrated and coordinated multi-sectoral system. Attachments: -Summary of Meeting, Jane Townsley, President IAWP -May 7 letter of invitation to the IAWP -Programme Description -Concept Paper for Standards and Guidelines Inside one of the sessions

2 Global Technical Consultation on Essential Policing and Justice Sector Services to Respond to Violence Against Women and Girls The consultation involved several UN partners: UNWomen, UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund), UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) and UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) together with invited 'experts' from both policing and the justice sector. IAWP member Ruth Montgomery (retired Edmonton Police Service, Canada) was one of the two consultants employed to assist the development and delivery of this project which is funded by the Australian Government who were represented at the consultation by Helen McDermott (Australasian Council of Women and Policing, Australia), herself an IAWP member. The experts came from a number of countries across the globe, both developed and developing countries were represented. This was the 2nd of four meetings of experts, the first involved health services, two further consultation meetings will involve the social sector and the final one will bring experts together to explore governance issues including key performance indicators. The final document will provide a set of guidelines and quality standards expected of countries when dealing with violence against women and girls; it is aimed at low and middle income countries. The consultation process consisted of both plenary discussions as well as sessions where the police experts and justice experts worked separately exploring the different issues relevant to their particular areas of expertise. A draft document including a set of 'essential services' had been identified, some being cross cutting issues, others being specific to either police or justice. For each essential service a number of 'core elements' had been identified and for each core element 'quality standards'. Police Essential Services were identified as: Safety and Protection Assistance and Support Prevention of Violence against women and girls Access to police for all victims/survivors Attending Incidents and conducting preliminary investigations Investigation and Gathering evidence Preparing the case for charge Cross cutting issues included institutional quality standards covering a number of issues including training, professional development and equipping police officers to ensure they can deliver a quality service to victims. During our discussions, both plenary and in smaller groups we worked through the document, agreeing, moving, adding or removing sections to ensure it accurately represented what is required to better serve victims/survivors of violence against women and girls. The days were very intense, beginning at or just before 9am and working sometimes until 6pm, but being part of this consultation was a tremendous opportunity for IAWP to contribute to the development of such an important document. We were invited as 'police experts' and I was able to provide a global perspective on the issues under discussion. IAWP will continue to be involved as this project develops and I shall be able to update you on our involvement in the months to come. Jane Townsley President, IAWP 4th July 2014

3 1-4 July 2014 Photos Global Consultation Sessions Miscellaneous Photos Group shot of participants INSIDE Some of the Sessions

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5 7 May 2014 Dear Ms Townsley We are writing to formally invite IAWP to the Global Technical Consultation on the Police and Justice Sector s Response to Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) to be convened by UN Women and UNFPA as part of the Joint Global Programme on Essential Services for Women and Girls subject to Violence (the joint programme ). Given this meeting s focus on the police and justice sector, it is convened in partnership with UNDP and UNODC and will take place in Marrakech, Morocco from 1-4 July The joint programme, co-managed by UN Women and UNFPA, is supported by the Australian Government and seeks to fill the gap between the agreements reached at the international level for responding to VAWG including the recent Commission on the Status of Women 57 th Session Agreed Conclusions and country level activities by providing technical guidance on the provision of coordinated quality services. A key expected outcome of the joint programme is the agreement of a set of minimum standards/guidelines to ensure the provision of quality, coordinated services for survivors. A short note on the Joint Programme is provided in Attachment 1. The overall programme of work for the joint programme covers four key sectors/areas including: the health sector; police and justice; social and other support services and coordination and governance of an integrated and coordinated multi-sectoral system. This is the second global technical consultation organized under the joint programme which focuses on the police and justice sector. A short concept note for the consultation is attached (Attachment 2). The meeting will focus on reaching agreement on a set of essential police and justice sector services and responses required to respond to violence against women and girls, as well as the core elements of, and the quality standards and guidelines for, these services. Given IAWP s focus on women in law enforcement and the development of programs or policies favourable to women, we hope that you or your nominated representative will be able to attend and participate actively in the plenary and working group discussions as well as the formulation of recommendations for the final report of the meeting. Given the limited funds available for supporting country-based experts, unfortunately we are not able to fund the travel expenses for your representative s participation. Ms Jane Townsley, President, International Association of Women Police, United Kingdom

6 Invited participants are expected to arrive in Marrakech by Monday, 30 June 2014 and to remain until Friday afternoon, 4 July The technical consultation will begin on Tuesday, 1 July at 9.00 a.m. and close on Friday, 4 July at 1 p.m. An information note containing the location of the consultation and other relevant details will be provided soon to assist you to arrange your travels. To confirm your participation, or in case you have further questions, please contact Tania Farha from UN Women (tania.farha@unwomen.org) and Upala Devi (devi@unfpa.org) by Wednesday, 14 May We look forward to hearing from you and to your participation in this consultation. Yours sincerely, Riet Groenen Chief, Ending Violence Against Women Section, Policy Division UN Women Luis Mora Chief, Gender, Human Rights and Culture Branch, Technical Division UNFPA 2

7 Attachment 1 Essential Services for women and girls subject to violence Despite extensive commitment by women s organizations, government and other partners, many women and girls subjected to violence still lack access to coordinated, quality essential services for their safety, health and access to justice. The term essential services refers to those services and responses that are closely coordinated and most typically respond to the needs of women and girls who have experienced violence, such as: hotlines; health care, including post-rape care; crisis counseling and referrals; shelter and safe housing; safety and police protection; and legal and social assistance. Even where basic support services exist in the world, they are typically underfunded, understaffed, not of sufficient quality as staff lack the necessary skills to provide appropriate support and care to violence survivors, and mostly available in the capital or district-level cities. Even in high-income countries, the availability, quality and access to such services can be insufficient or limited in scope or coverage. Essential services for women and girls, especially those who suffer multiple forms of discrimination and/or are particularly marginalized, such as migrant and younger women, women living with disabilities or HIV and AIDS, or those living in remote or rural areas, are even more inaccessible. The lack of access by women to coordinated, quality essential services means that they continue to suffer from the physical and mental impacts of violence including acute physical injuries, serious injuries leading to severe disability, unwanted pregnancy, other obstetric/gynecological complications, depression and stress and anxiety disorders. The lack of access to essential services may also result in a woman s death. The World Health Organization has provided much guidance on the health consequences and impacts of violence against women. To improve the quality of and access to essential multi-sectorial services, UN Women and UNFPA have established the Essential Services Programme with initial support and funding being provided by the Australian Government. This initiative seeks to fill the gap between the agreements made at the international level for responding to VAW, including the recent and historical CSW 57 agreed conclusions on the issue of ending violence against women and girls, which stress the need for access to quality services for survivors, and country level activity by

8 providing technical guidance on how to develop quality services and responses. While this Programme is a joint initiative of UNFPA and UN Women, it will include partnerships with other UN agencies WHO, UNODC, UNDP and UNICEF. UN Women is currently in discussion with these UN entities to discuss cooperation on this programme of work. UN Women and UNFPA are developing a four year programme will involve the following steps: reaching global agreement on the core set of essential services and responses required to respond to violence against women in the areas of health, police and justice, support services and coordination and governance; the development and/or adaptation of standards and/or guidelines for the provision of services; the development of technical assistance including specific guidance for implementation of the standards and/or guidelines and capacity building for service providers; and testing the standards and guidelines by implementing them in range of locations in low to medium income countries. The standards and or guidelines will be developed through global technical consultations with key experts from governments, academia, civil society organizations and the women s movement on each relevant area or sector. The first consultation focusing on the health sector took place in November For further information please contact the following: Tania Farha, UN Women tania.farha@unwomen.org; and Upala Devi, UNFPA devi@unfpa.org.

9 Joint Global Programme on Essential Services for Women and Girls subject to Violence Concept Note for Global Technical Consultation on the development or adaptation of quality standards and guidelines for providing core elements of essential policing and justice sector services to women and girls subject to violence Background Violence against women and girls 1 is one of the most universal and pervasive human rights violations in the world. It constitutes a global pandemic of alarming proportions, with the most recent analysis by the World Health Organisation and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (2013) showing that the global prevalence of physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence among all ever-partnered women is 1 in 3. Studies from different countries however show that between 15 and 70 percent of women in the world report experiencing physical and/or sexual violence at some point in their lifetime, by their partners. The magnitude of violence against women and girls has significant consequences on well-being, health and safety of women and girl s lives, as well as for school achievement, productivity, public policies and budgets. It has impacts on children, other family members, and whole communities. If unaddressed, these human rights violations have serious cost implications and consequences, including on poverty reduction and development and efforts to achieve the MDGs and any post 2015 development goals. Access to services can diminish these losses and mitigate the consequences for women and girls as well as families and communities, and help break recurrent cycles of violence. At the global level, there has been extensive commitment by the international community to eliminate and prevent violence against women founded on a human rights based framework including the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the 1993 Declaration on the Elimination of all forms of violence against women, the International Conference on Population and Development and its Programme for Action (1994) and the Beijing Platform for Action (1995) includes the elimination of violence as one of its 12 critical areas of concern and there have been numerous General Assembly and Human Rights resolutions focused on the issue of violence against women clearly outlining what States should be doing to address this issue. The Study of the Secretary-General on Ending Violence against women From words to action (2006) also provides detailed findings and recommendations for 1 Women, for the purposes of this project, includes adolescent girls. 1

10 Member States to assist in implementing their international obligations on eliminating violence against women. Most recently, the agreed conclusions of the Commission for the Status of Women (2013) on the elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls provides a clear roadmap for implementation. At the national level however, many countries are yet to develop national action plans or strategies to end violence against women that are explicitly focused on achieving improved and expanded access to services for all women and girls victims/survivors of violence who need them. In addition, while there are some normative standards at the international level, there is no global-level framework and guidance specifying how to achieve greater access to essential services for all women and girls, nor an internationally-defined package of quality standards and/or guidelines for the provision of such services. The Joint Global Programme on Essential Services for Women and Girls subject to Violence ( the Joint Programme ), co-managed by UN Women and UNFPA, in partnership with other UN agencies including, UNDP, UNODC, WHO etc. etc. is aimed at responding to these critical gaps and challenges. It aims to provide guidance on how to implement the global norms focusing on multisectoral services and responses. Objectives The aim of the programme is to reach agreement on the core elements of services and responses considered essential 2 for responding to the needs of women and girls who have been subjected to violence. The programme considers four key areas: health care services; police and justice (including legal aid) responses; social support/protection services (e.g. safe accommodation, psycho-social counseling, helplines,); and coordination and governance. This global technical consultation is focused on the second of the four key areas - the police and justice sector services. The initiative will build on the available and well-tested existing resources and in particular, on existing guidelines and recommendations at global (UN and others) and regional levels. Where high quality global, regional and/or national standards and/or guidelines exist (based on extensive reviews and evaluations of ethically-sound approaches and practices used over the years, as well as on consultations with experts and practitioners), these will be integrated into the technical guidance developed. UN Women, UNFPA, UNODC and UNDP (and other UN agencies) will work together with relevant experts, practitioners and researchers to achieve agreement on the set of essential police and justice sector services and responses required, as well as the core elements of, and the quality standards and guidelines for, these services. The resulting quality standards and guidelines will developed with focusing on the needs of middle to low income setting but they will be applicable in a range of situations. Crisis affected and other humanitarian contexts are not the focus of this consultation or of the joint global programme but the standards and guidelines may be relevant in those contexts depending on the situation. The consultation will also include discussion on the development of practical tools to guide the provision of such services and responses with a 2 The term essential services refers to those core services and responses are most typically required to respond to women and girls who have experienced violence and which assist in protecting them from future violence, such as: hotlines; health care, including post-rape care; crisis counseling and referrals; shelter and safe housing; safety and police protection; and legal and social assistance. 2

11 special focus on low to middle income countries. As such, they will convene a global technical consultation tentatively scheduled on 1-4 July 2014 to: Identify what policy/legal frameworks have to be in place for the delivery of essential police and justice sector responses (focused on low to middle income countries); identify and agree the core elements from the range of essential police interventions and justice services required for supporting women and girls who have experienced genderbased violence; agree on the quality standards and guidelines for the delivery of police interventions and justice services; identify any remaining gaps in the requirements for quality service provision; and make recommendations on tools necessary to guide the police and justice sector s response to violence against women and girls in different contexts. Current Situation with regard to the police and justice sector responses for violence against women Police and justice services are essential components in any multisectoral response to violence against women and girls to ensure that relevant laws against such violence are enforced and applied to perpetrators of such violence. In addition to upholding the law and protecting against violence and the impunity of perpetrators however, policing and justice services can ensure women and girls access to legal information, counsel and representation as well as offering protection and safety for women and girls who are vulnerable to or remain at risk of future violence. During the past 10 to 15 years there have been significant changes to way in which police and the justice system respond to violence against women and girls in both the developed and developing countries. Much of this has been the result of extensive advocacy by women s groups and civil society organizations. For police, many of these changes have included: senior members of the police force taking the issue of violence against women and girls more seriously and making it a priority for police action; development of more specific laws to give police specific powers to take action and require them to do so; establishment of specialized units/desks to deal with the issue of violence against women girls; force-wide training on the issue of violence against women and girls; development of tools to assess risk and specific investigative techniques for investigation of violence; and working together with other essential services for coordinating responses for women and girls who have been victims of violence to ensure support throughout the criminal justice system process. For the justice system more broadly, such as the judiciary, public prosecutors and other courts staff and officials, there have also been significant changes including: 3

12 Development of comprehensive civil and criminal laws explicitly addressing violence against women and girls; Revision and improvement of family laws in some countries to consider the impact of violence against women and their children; Development of laws of criminal procedure and evidence to support more effective application of legislation on violence against women and girls, including those that support and facilitate the participation of victims in the criminal justice system process; Creation of specialized courts, special court lists or other processes for dealing with cases of violence against women and girls; Appointment of specific and specialized judges/magistrates/justices to deal with violence against women and girls cases; Development and delivery of specialist training courses for members of the judiciary and other court officials/staff including court registrars on violence against women and girls; Establishment of specialized units within Offices of Public Prosecution and the appointment and training of specialized public prosecutors for cases of violence against women; and Introduction of curricula on violence against women into continuing legal education for lawyers and judges and into undergraduate and post-graduate legal degrees. Despite the progress and improvements to date in some contexts, the police and justice system often fail to ensure the rights of women and girls as well as their access to justice. Some of the challenges stem from weak institutional structures and organizational cultures of both police and the broader justice sector, which in many places still reflect and reinforce discriminatory attitudes or lack sufficient capacity or ability to respond adequately and effectively to the issue. As police are often the gatekeepers to the system, positive police attitudes and behaviours are critical to an effective response to violence against women and girls by the criminal justice system. The police response is often the basis upon which women decide whether or not to continue in the system. Even when they do decide to proceed, they are often re-victimized by the system itself with very few cases resulting in convictions or opportunities for women to be heard. Additionally, women are also often let down by the lack of information and sensitized legal counsel available to them. Too many women simply do not know what choices and option they have in terms of pursuing justice as well as what protections are offered under the law. In some cases women may choose not to pursue justice through the criminal system, but rather decide to take action to change their circumstance under civil law. Moreover, legal representation where available, can be costly; legal aid to ensure appropriate representation of women victims/survivors in court is also required if women are to receive a fair trial. In many contexts girls suffer particular problems, with both justice and policing systems poorly equipped to deal with the needs of young people. Normative standards and guidelines focusing specifically on police and justice responses to violence against women at the global and national level are contained in the Updated Model Strategies and Practical Measures on the Elimination of Violence against Women in the Field of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 65/228. The Updated Model Strategies and Practical Measures represent the consensus of all UN 4

13 Member States on what needs to be done to deliver responses to violence against women and girls in the areas of criminal law and procedure, police, prosecutors and other criminal justice officials, sentencing and corrections, victim support and assistance, health and social services, training, research and evaluation, crime prevention and international cooperation. Guidance for their implementation at the national level are contained in the Handbook on Effective Police Responses developed by UNODC in , and the Programming Modules on Justice 4 and Security 5 in the Virtual Knowledge Center for Ending Violence against Women developed and managed by UN Women. In addition, UNODC will soon be releasing its latest publications, the Blueprint of Action: an Implementation Plan for Criminal Justice Systems to Prevent and Respond to Violence against Women and Girls 6, and the Handbook on Effective Prosecution Responses to Violence again Women and Girls 7. The more precise standards for assessing the quality of such responses however, are missing. In particular a framework for assessing the quality of the core elements of the essential services that should be provided to women and girls by the police and justice sector is lacking. This global technical consultation seeks to fill this gap to ensure that in addition to all the programming information and advice available, there is clarity on the way in which these essential services should be provided to ensure that they are meeting the needs of women and girls. There is also a need to ensure that governments are fulfilling their international obligations to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls. Critical Issues a. Understanding the different contexts in which police and justice sector responses are provided in different parts of world and identifying what currently exists in relation to international guidance on police and justice system responses to violence against women and girls. One of the most important issues will be to understand the different contexts and settings, including the policy and legal frameworks, in which police and justice responses are currently provided to women and girls subject to violence around the world to ensure that the standards and guidelines for assessing quality are applicable to all countries, particularly low to middle income countries. A comprehensive assessment of the existing responses, including any global guidance available, will be a critical component of any approach to implement the quality standards and/or guidelines. b. Identifying the range of essential police and justice services required to support victims of violence and the core elements of such services to ensure their effective functioning. There are many considerations for developing quality police and justice responses which can adequately respond to violence against women and girls including reaching consensus on what elements are required, who the stakeholders are and what must be present for them to function UNODC, forthcoming, UNODC, forthcoming,

14 effectively and meet the needs of women and girls, e.g. preferable location to ensure access to such services and other important features such as infrastructure and procedures. These services must also be accessible to women and girls who suffer multiple forms of discrimination (e.g. those with disabilities, those with HIV, indigenous women and girls, women and girls from migrant or marginalized communities). There needs to be accessible complementary services such as those to collect and store forensic medical evidence for the purpose of criminal investigations and criminal legal proceedings. In addition, mechanisms to coordinate with, and refer victims/survivors to, other relevant services are required. c. To develop and/or adapt quality standards and guidelines for the provision of essential police and justice services for women and girls. Building on the information available at the global and country level on developing police and justice system responses to violence against women and girls, this technical consultation will identify and agree the core elements of those essential services and responses and the quality standards and guidelines for their delivery at the national level, particularly low to middle income countries. d. Determine what, if any, further practical guidance is required to support the implementation of the quality standards, particularly in low to medium income countries. In order to effectively implement the agreed core elements of the police and justice response to the quality standard required, it will be necessary to consider whether or practical or a how to guides/ tools for planning and delivering quality responses to victims/survivors is required based on the agreed core elements and quality standards, especially for low to medium income countries. Format of the Global Technical Consultation The global technical consultation include a mix of joint sessions as well as sessions run in parallel to ensure specific focus on both police service and responses and on the broader justice system. The participants from both parallel consultations will also join together to examine all issues that require their mutual consideration. The entire consultation process will be managed by two facilitators (international consultants), one for each parallel consultation, who will also combine their efforts for joint sessions of the consultation. Proposed participants The technical consultation will be attended by up to 30 relevant professionals and practitioners with practical experience across police and the broader justice system. In selecting the experts, the criteria of geographical balance and diversity of expertise will be taken into consideration. Experts will include members of various police forces, judges, magistrates, court official and relevant representatives from government, women s organizations and academia. UN co-host agencies will provide travel and daily subsistence allowance to appointed experts. 6

15 Documentation The documentation for the meeting will include analytical papers commissioned by UN partners on the issues to be discussed on both police responses and on the broader justice responses. Organization The technical consultation will be convened by UN Women, UNFPA, UNODC and UNDP on 1-4 July 2014, in Marrakesh Morocco. It will be conducted in English and all documentation will be in English. Expected Outcomes The expected outcomes of the technical consultation will be identification of the core elements of a quality police and justice sector response to violence against women, standards and guidelines to ensure the delivery of a quality response and service and identification of the practical tools and guidance that is required to assist in the implementation of the standards and guidelines. Specifically, this will include: Consensus on the essential set of police and justice services required to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls; consensus on the core elements of a quality police and justice response, for victims/survivors of violence (with a focus on LDCs and developing countries); agreement on the approach to and the content for the quality standards and guidelines for the provision of police and justice responses; and the identification of tools and more practical guidance that would assist in ensuring the delivery of quality police and justice sector services and responses to women and girls subject to or at risk of violence in different contexts. UN Women, UNFPA, UNODC and UNDP April