The National Institute of Justice commenced the implementation of the project “Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence” funded under the Justice Programme of the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2014-2021

On 12 February 2020 the NIJ Director and the Head of the Programme Operator of BG Justice of the Norwegian Financial Mechanism (NFM) 2014-2021 signed a grant agreement № BGJUSTICE-4.001-0002/12.02.2020 “Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence”, amounting to 488 957,50 lv. with a term of implementation of 4 years.   The project will be implemented with the financial support of the Justice Programme, NFM 2014-2021, in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Bulgaria.     It aims at strengthening the capacity of the Judiciary, law enforcement and administration to implement more effectively the established standards for protection and institutional practices for prevention and counteraction to Domestic and Gender-based Violence (DGBV) and improvement of the framework for interinstitutional cooperation and coordination in this field.   The project main target groups are legal and other professionals working in the field of justice (magistrates, candidates for junior magistrates, court staff, court experts, lawyers, etc.), law enforcement officials, experts to Bulgarian authorities in charge of preventing and combating DGBV.     To attain its objectives the project envisages the implementation of the following set of activities:   – Training on implementation of the established European and international standards for protection against DGBV and prevention of this problem, delivered in complementary training formats (face-to-face, e-learning and/or blended trainings, roundtables, discussions, conferences, etc.) in which more than 290 representatives of the project target groups will be trained;   – Development of a Case management guide on DGBV-issues for magistrates, incorporating the relevant European standards in this field, accessible in electronic format and in print (500 copies);   – Adaptation and pilot delivery of the e-learning module of the CoE HELP Programme on Violence against Women and Domestic Violence;   – Study visit to a competent European Institution in the field of fundamental rights protection;   – Evaluation of the pilot local cooperation mechanism in response to DGBV, established under the NFM funded project “Improving the Access to Justice for People living below the Poverty Line” of the National Legal Aid Bureau (NLAB).    Expected outcomes of the project implementation:   • Enhanced competence of Bulgarian magistrates and other experts involved in the field under consideration and improved interaction between the Judiciary and the competent law enforcement institutions, ensuring a more effective prevention and counteraction to DGBV;   • Assessment of the pilot local cooperation mechanism in the field of DGBV, established under the NLAB project, aimed at building up an effective and efficient mechanism for interinstitutional cooperation in this field.     NIJ will periodically publish on its webpage and on the dedicated project website information on the progress in project implementation and its outcomes in line with the Programme requirements for information, communication, transparency and publicity.