La Strada Moldova and the National Unique Service for Emergency calls 112 have signed a collaboration agreement today, 27th of November, which intends to strengthen the efforts of the two institutions and improve the assistance provided to the victims of domestic violence.
For an emergency telephone service, professionalism and excellence is measured by the speed of answering the call and the accuracy of the data provided to the emergency intervention teams, for the Trustline counsellors, quality is most often measured by the strength to maintain a pause and actively listen.
We have quickly come to a collaboration agreement with the management of the 112 service. A common cause unites us, the possibility of offering help to persons in vulnerable situations or crises.
We are confident that our example will inspire and motivate other emergency telephone assistance services to cooperate, and become more open, more flexible, and the operators and counsellors to be better prepared to answer to the needs of the victims of domestic violence, declared Daniela MISAIL-NICHITIN, Director of the Issues Affecting Women Program within International Centre “La Strada Moldova”, during the press conference preceding the signing of the agreement.
Liviu OBOROC, Director of the National Unique Service for Emergency Calls 112, mentioned: the objective of the Automated informational System of the 112 service is to ensure the immediate assistance from the emergency service according to the event reported by the citizen. In the conditions when the violence phenomenon is growing significantly, particularly now, during the pandemic, when home became a dangerous place for some women and children, and the worrying statistics suggest that more and more persons affected by violence acts call the unique emergency number 112, and our priority is to alert specialized emergency services. A subsequent action represents the support offered by the Trustline for Women and Girls 0 8008 8008. We have full confidence that this agreement represents a first step in preventing and reducing domestic violence and violence against women.
The collaboration between the institutions implies joint efforts in order to reduce the level of tolerance towards gender-based violence, including domestic violence and sexual violence, and prevent the repeated victimization of beneficiaries. Practically, this means that, on one hand, the 112 service will redirect all calls coming from women-victims of domestic violence to the Trustline for Women and Girls, in the cases when the beneficiary refuses police intervention or is in a state of crisis and requires emotional support and psychological counselling. The redirection will also happen when the beneficiaries will need information about their rights and the services available to them.
On the other hand, La Strada specialists will offer support through training and capacity building activities for the 112 operators in the field of domestic and sexual violence.
The first trainings will take place shortly, at the beginning of December.
At the conference, we also presented relevant data from the activity of the Trustline for Women and Girls 0 8008 8008 team, team active for 10 years already. To mark this occasion, the service published a jubilee written diary.
The figures registered are not about how big or small, visible or hidden the phenomenon of violence is. The figures talk about all the dramatic moments in which someone – a woman – has had the courage to ask for help, the courage to pick up the phone and confess her troubles, and us who gave her a helping hand, says Liliana Istrate-Burciu, manager of the Trustline for Women and Girls.
The full version of the Diary “Trustline for Women and Girls. 10 years of trust. 10 years of help” can be accessed on the following link: https://cutt.ly/zhdPFte