Victim Support From 28 to 30 August, the Mission supported a visit by MoI representatives to Gothenburg, Sweden to develop a risk assessment tool for victims of domestic violence and to support the implementation of its Special Protocol for Police Officers’ Actions in Cases of Violence against Women in Family and Close Partnership Relations, adopted in March 2013. During the visit, the Serbian MoI representatives met Swedish victim support specialists of the police, including those for dealing with child victims of domestic violence. The objective of the visit was to improve the Special Protocol’s authors’ knowledge (members of the Serbian MoI who will also be delivering training on its implementation) on the risk assessment list and system mechanism; duties of the uniformed police and criminal investigators in relation to domestic violence; as well as the co-ordination and role of the police in relation to victim protection and safe houses. From 12-21 November, and 25 November to 6 December, the Mission facilitated training to key local police staff – some 25 police officers per police district – in Zajecar, Bor, Leskovac, Vranje, Nis, Pirot, Prokuplje, Pozarevac, Smederevo, Novi Sad, Kragujevac, Kursumlija, Kraljevo and Jagodina on how to act in cases of violence against women. The Mission supported this activity to support the MoI’s on-going outreach to all 27 police districts with regard to the implementation of the Special Protocol for Police Officers’ Actions in Cases of Violence against Women in Family and Close Partnership Relations. The training specifically targeted officers from duty/dispatch service, patrol officers/first responding officers and criminal investigation officers who are dealing with victims of domestic violence as part of their daily duties. These efforts represented an important step forward in standardizing police work with regard to dealing with victims of crime, in particular victims of domestic violence. The training was expected to facilitate enhanced performance of police officers in meeting the needs of victims primarily through support, protection, and safety. It also covered presentations on the current legal framework; the psychological aspect of victims; the circle of violence; as well as practical experience from the Belgrade Metropolitan Police as the largest police district with most experience in this field. Furthermore, the MoI appointed two co-ordinators in each of the 27 district police directorates – one from the uniformed police and one from the criminal investigations structure – who were going to be tasked to co-ordinate assistance to victims with healthcare, social services and prosecutors, through regular weekly meetings with representatives of the afore-mentioned institutions. In addition to providing expertise, the Mission assisted the police in implementing these initiatives by designing and printing of 2,700 copies of the Special Protocol which were distributed throughout all 27 police districts in Serbia; as well as 1,500 copies of students’ handbook for training on the implementation of the Special Protocol. The Mission’s support also focused on organizing and delivering the training, as well as monitoring the training delivery in several selected police districts. Gender Mainstreaming On 17 April, the Mission hosted an informal “Coordination Meeting on Gender and Security Sector Reform”, gathering representatives of UNWOMEN, UNDP/SEESAC, the Swedish National Police Board, the Swedish Embassy, the Norwegian Embassy and DCAF. Participants provided updates on their security sector reform activities that contain a gender component, with particular emphasis on bilateral and trilateral activities that stemmed from previous co-ordination meetings. Furthermore, the representatives of UN agencies that were running regional projects stated that these meetings represent a good practice in the region in this subject area. 88