The Ministry of Justice calls on the competent institutions to become even more intensively involved in the fight against domestic violence, with the aim of preventing an escalation of the problem and cases resulting in death. All countries face with this problem which has seen a rise in the number of reported cases world-wide since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and under the resulting unforeseen circumstances.
The Ministry of Justice believes it necessary that all state resources be engaged in suppressing domestic violence because only by joint and comprehensive action can the number of domestic violence cases reduce. The established judicial practice and the existing legal framework enable such action to be systemic and inter-institutional, involving courts, prosecutor’s offices, competent ministries, and health and educational institutions. Since the enforcement of the Domestic Violence Prevention Act in June 2017, over 140,000 cases of domestic violence have been reviewed, over 50,000 motions for urgent measures have been granted, and over 42,000 individual plans of victims’ protection have been prepared.
Simultaneously, nearly 8,000 meetings of coordination and cooperation groups have been held – groups which are formed on territories under the jurisdiction of every basic prosecutor’s office. To further the work of these groups, the Ministry recommended at the beginning of May that the groups’ meetings take place on-line. The on-line meetings have been facilitated through the use of a suitable application.
In addition to the efficient work of the competent authorities, the Ministry of Justice would like to reiterate that the fight against domestic violence necessitates a unified action by the entire society. This implies that not one person turns a blind eye to domestic violence and that those who witness it, contact the competent authorities to report