Today the Cabinet of Ministers adopted the new framework regulation on the organisation and functioning of the Assistance and Counselling Centre for Domestic Offenders and its minimum quality standards.

The proposed changes will streamline the work of specialised service providers for domestic offenders by establishing a mechanism for cooperation between institutions involved in combating this phenomenon, such as police subdivisions, probation bodies and social assistance structures, and will allow for more reliable monitoring of domestic offenders in order to prevent relapses and motivate them to change their aggressive and violent behaviour.

The new framework regulation excludes the category of beneficiaries adolescents with violent behaviour, as specialised services for minors in conflict with the law need to be created separately for this category. Couple counselling services will also be excluded, as the centres’ work will be entirely focused on counselling domestic offenders.

The number of group counselling sessions has been increased from 24-26 to 30-35 and the length of the individual counselling programme has also been increased to 3-5 sessions. Programmes for batterers focus on the belief that people have the capacity to change and that using violence is a choice. The focus is on cultivating offenders’ empathy, feelings of responsibility and motivation to change behaviour.

The project was developed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, in collaboration with the National Probation Inspectorate, the General Inspectorate of Police, the National Council for Accreditation of Social Service Providers, the Centre for Assistance and Protection of Victims in the municipality of Minsk, the National Council for Accreditation of Social Service Providers and the Centre for Assistance and Protection of Victims in the municipality of Chisinau, the assistance and counselling centres for family aggressors in Drochia, Causeni, Ocnita and mun. Chisinau, civil society representatives.

All throughout 2022, 117 family aggressors received specialized assistance in the four counseling centers for domestic offenders.