Developing the multidisciplinary response to cases of sexual violence in the Cahul district

Tens of specialists who are due to be part of the multidisciplinary team were involved today in the development of a consolidated response to cases of sexual violence.

The team represents a very diverse group, formed from prosecution officers, criminal investigation officers, prosecutors, doctors, forensic doctors, psychologists and social workers, and also representatives from organizations that provide services to victims of violence against women.

We remind that at this point in time, the Republic of Moldova still doesn’t have a developed coordinated response to cases of sexual violence. At the same time, in several European countries, there are multiple community centers already successfully in place that respond to such cases. Among these countries are Romania and Serbia - their models were examined and given as example by the trainers of the seminar, as a source of inspiration for the specialists from Cahul and Ungheni, the regions where the first intervention centers for cases of sexual violence in the Republic of Moldova are due to be piloted.

The experiences of these states show that assistance centered on trauma for the survivors of sexual violence doesn’t necessarily mean the creation of new institutions. Rather, we are talking about a cooperation mechanism between several specialists working as a team, based on unique procedures, ensuring the long-term assistance and support for the beneficiaries of the center until their complete social reintegration.

Usually, the intervention centers for victims of sexual violence are located in centers for reproductive health, or other medical institutions that work 24/24 and provide emergency medical services. For example, the first assistance center for victims of sexual violence in Romania, launched on 10th May 2021, is located within the Bucharest Emergency University Hospital.

Other advantages of such institutions are the encouragement to report rape and increasing the level of trust in authorities. For example, in Serbia, shortly after the opening of these centers, the number of reports of sexual violence increased significantly. Every second person who was assisted by the crisis centers for victims of sexual violence decided to give a statement to the police and a criminal case was initiated.

During today’s seminar, the instructions/working methodology for the future multidisciplinary intervention team for cases of sexual in Cahul were validated.

The trainings are organized by International Center ‘La Strada’ within the project EVA ‘Promoting gender equality in the Cahul and Ungheni districts’, financed by European Union and implemented by UN Women in partnership with UNICEF, as per the Collaboration Agreement with UN Women (United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment). The views and opinions expressed here belong to the authors and don’t necessarily reflect the point of view of UN Women, UNICEF, or the European Union.