Electronic means of controlling offenders: Ukraine and Spain expand cooperation to combat domestic violence
Today, May 12, during the meeting, representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Spain and the Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain in Ukraine exchanged experiences in the field of prevention and counteraction of domestic violence, in particular on the introduction of an electronic control system for offenders.
“For the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the National Police, the direction of preventing and combating domestic violence is extremely important and a priority. We are constantly working on the search for new mechanisms of response by the police to the facts of violence for the inevitability of punishment and to create effective mechanisms for the protection of victims,” said Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Kateryna Pavlichenko.
The Deputy Minister expressed her gratitude to the Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain in Ukraine for its support and readiness for fruitful cooperation, and shared her hopes in the future exchange of experience between the countries:
“The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine is always open to the introduction of the best practices of foreign countries and is extremely interested in the experience of Spain, where innovative technologies have already been integrated into the process of protecting victims of domestic violence, namely, electronic controls have been introduced that track the offender's compliance with the requirements of restrictive regulations and relate to prevention of approaching the injured person,” said Ekaterina Pavlichenko.
The Attorney for the Kingdom of Spain in Ukraine, Pablo Gan Quesada, thanked for the reception and declared his readiness to cooperate with Ukraine in the field of combating and preventing domestic and gender violence.
“Spain has 20 years of experience in dealing with this phenomenon and we have the lowest statistics on domestic violence. Spain owes its success to a whole range of measures, among which technical means of preventing domestic violence are also important, with which the police can monitor compliance with the measures imposed on him by the aggressor. We are happy to share information about our technical achievements. We know that Ukrainian society pays attention and actively fights against violence,” he said.
Pablo Gán Quesada also expressed interest in the future dynamic development of cooperation between Ukraine and Spain, which will include, among other things, a series of expert meetings and discussions with a view to the rapid implementation of electronic controls.
In turn, Juan Carlos Bermejo Cardero, Assistant Adviser to the Ministry of the Interior of Spain, commented that the work carried out in Spain to prevent and combat violence is divided into legislative and operational.
“For us, the main task is to protect the victim. It is not one ministry that protects the victim, but many bodies that integrally protect the injured person,” he said.
According to Ekaterina Pavlichenko, the Ministry of Internal Affairs is working on the relevant draft law on amendments to the legislation in terms of preventing and combating domestic violence.
“The issue is complex and we are ready to consolidate efforts, in particular with the deputy corps, because bracelets restrict the freedom of movement of the offender, so there must be a legal basis for this,” the deputy minister said.
During the meeting, the parties also discussed the issue of updating the contractual and legal relations of Ukraine and Spain.
“This issue is very relevant for us. Subject to the readiness of both parties, we will work out all the details very quickly,” said Mary Akopian, Director of the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.
Department of Communications of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine
