Overcoming domestic violence is a priority for the Ministry of Internal Affairs - Ekaterina Pavlichenko
In an interview with Povaga, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Kateryna Pavlichenko spoke about how the police system has changed after the Kaharlyk case, prospects for ratification of the Istanbul Convention. And also about the statistics of appeals for domestic violence and the introduction of the system of electronic means of controlling offenders, about the work of the Ukrainian Association of Law Enforcement Representatives, the protection of this year's Equality March.
“NOW THE MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS IS DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING A CUSTODY RECORDS SYSTEM”
About the case in Kaharlyka , when the police raped a girl in the station. In December 2020, the State Bureau of Investigation handed indictments to five police officers, and there was a re-certification. There is information that these police officers were left to work in the law enforcement field. Why has this happened and how much has the policy of the ministry changed since this high-profile case?
Yes, this situation really shocked me both as a person and as a police officer. In the specified unit, an official investigation and re-certification were carried out. As a result, 18 people were dismissed from their positions, about 15 employees — from the police service, and some were subject to disciplinary sanctions.
The bodies of the internal affairs system are a large team with a significant number of departments, where many people work. It is unfortunate that among the decent and professional law enforcement officers who protect and rescue people every day, there are those who are not worthy to be called police officers. I believe the court will put all the dots over the “and” in this story. Such cases are not hidden, systematic work is underway to identify such people and clean the ranks of the Ministry of Internal Affairs system.
Currently, the Ministry of Internal Affairs is developing and implementing a system such as Custody Records. It first of all warns of any abuse against citizens who have applied to the police station or have been taken there. This is 24/7 control.
This system will help to record all actions of police officers from the moment the police officer begins to contact any person: arrest, compilation of all materials, etc.
Is it just a video fix? Is it about broader changes?
This is more than a video recording. Video recording is only part of it. This information is then uploaded to the appropriate system, in which all actions with the detained person can be fully tracked. The Custody Records project is currently being piloted in certain regions: Kharkiv region, Ternopil region. This system involves a certain closed loop. It begins from the moment of detention, when the police communicate with the person, and up to the time when she was taken to the district department or temporary detention center.
The implementation of the Custody Records project has been identified by Minister Denis Monastyrsky as one of the priority areas of the Department's work. The system is already being piloted and will be scaled throughout Ukraine. This, of course, requires significant funding. However, there are even more ambitious plans to make this system work not only in the police, but also in the National Guard and border guards.
Was the emergence of Custody Records influenced by the resonant case in Kagarlyk?
Implementation began before the events in Kagarlyk. This case made it clear that such a system as Custody Records should definitely function in Ukraine. It works in other countries, and it is right when we fully understand what happened to this or that person when contacting the police.
“IN THE POLICE, WE TRY TO WORK WITH CHILDREN SO THAT IT MEETS INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS”
Another innovation was the emergence of so-called “green rooms” for children who witnessed domestic violence. If I understand correctly, in one room the child works with a psychologist, and in the other behind the glass there are police officers who interview the child as a witness.
I want to say that green rooms are not such an innovation. “Green room” is a method of interviewing a child who has suffered or witnessed a crime, in conditions that minimize and prevent re-traumatization of the child. This technique has been used by police officers for a long time. There are already about 40 such green rooms throughout Ukraine. The use of the “Green Room” technique includes not only the presence of a room with a cozy atmosphere, but also the necessary technical equipment for video surveillance and video recording of the child's survey or interrogation, as well as the availability of appropriate specialists.
The Green Room is not the only project on the work of children who have suffered or witnessed crimes that is being implemented in Ukraine. There is also the Barnachus project. This is an interdisciplinary institution where criminal proceedings are carried out in a child-friendly environment in order to minimize the consequences of trauma, provide comprehensive social, psychological, legal, medical and other types of assistance to children. Barnachus is now piloted in Vinnytsia. In principle, it is also very similar to the methodology of the green room. The only difference is that the green room is territorially more often located in the regional police departments.
In the police, we try to work with children so that it meets international standards. In particular, the Lanzarote Convention [Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Violence, in force in Ukraine since 2010 — ed.] on the prevention of re-traumatization of children during interrogation. Because if a child is asked the same thing, then they may begin to interpret the question differently.
I wonder why the “green room” system only works for children. In general, if the person affected by violence is asked incorrectly and/or many times about the experience experienced, there may be trauma.
You mentioned the Lanzarote Convention of the Council of Europe, which was ratified by Ukraine. Therefore, immediately a question about the Istanbul Convention. What is your opinion on the prospects of its ratification by the current composition of the Parliament? Will it help the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the fight against gender-based violence?
We have been talking about ratification for more than a year now. If the Convention is ratified, it will entail faster changes in national legislation. I want to say that many of the norms of this convention have already been reflected in our legislation: the law on preventing and combating domestic violence, administrative and criminal liability for the commission of domestic violence, there are urgent prohibitive and restrictive provisions.
Despite this, the topic of domestic violence in recent years has been brought to the all-Ukrainian level. These are the Presidential Decree on Urgent Measures to Prevent and Combat Domestic Violence and its Action Plan, Ukraine's accession to the Biarritz Partnership, which is an initiative of the First Lady, a separate State Social Program to Prevent and Combat Domestic Violence.
“IF THE ISTANBUL CONVENTION IS RATIFIED, CHANGES ARE LIKELY TO HAPPEN FASTER”
Ukraine has had a law on equal rights and opportunities for women and men since 2005 and a law on the prohibition of discrimination since 2012. At the same time, both gender inequality and discrimination in the country remain. That is, can we rely on existing national legislation if this is how it works?
Perhaps you need to work more effectively with what you have. The changes we have just talked about are relatively new for our country. Legislation needs constant revision and improvement. If the Istanbul Convention is ratified, changes are likely to occur more quickly. In Ukraine, by the way, the statistics of appeals for domestic violence is constantly growing. So it increased by 47% in comparison — 8 months of 2020 to 8 months of 2021. Very interesting dynamics.
What does this indicate, in your opinion? Did people start to trust the police more or did the enlightenment about domestic violence work because the topic used to be very taboo?
I think our society has started to talk more and we have started to focus more. Thus, the number of mobile police response groups to domestic violence is increasing, counteraction approaches have become comprehensive, and police training is being conducted. For example, now they are actively implementing the system of community police officers, and there are also juvenile police officers, investigators, and patrols. There is a specialization of police officers, when a unit for combating domestic violence is laid in each direction of police work.
All police officers, without exception, should be guided in this problem, and not only mobile groups. No matter how many mobile groups we have and no matter how we increase them, they will still not cover the whole of Ukraine. Although their functioning is quite effective.
Therefore, we implement systematic training of all employees regardless of specialization. They need to know how to cooperate with each other in the event of domestic violence. This is studied during initial training and later — after the annual advanced training. Last year 2020, we developed a thematic plan for police officers. This plan can be divided into 2 parts: one part is common to all police officers, the second is specialized for each individual group, whether investigators or patrols, etc.
How effective, in your opinion, is the police network for combating domestic violence “POLINA”, which was established in Ukraine in 2017?
Efficient. It proves its effectiveness. And that is why we are increasing the number of mobile teams. Now there are 86 of them operating throughout Ukraine. These are mobile response groups for domestic violence cases. Where there are no mobile groups, patrol police officers, community police officers leave. That is why we apply an end-to-end approach in training for the police.
“ONE OF THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS THAT WE ARE CURRENTLY DEVELOPING IS ELECTRONIC MEANS OF CONTROLLING ABUSERS WHO HAVE COMMITTED VIOLENCE” So-called digitalization is being actively implemented in the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
In particular, with the beginning of the pandemic, a chatbot was created in Telegram @police_helpbot. Did he justify himself?
The chatbot is the answer to the challenges we faced last year, when the harsh lockdown and quarantine began. Then we realized that it was necessary to accumulate online all the information for a person affected by domestic violence. First we did it on a platform like Telegram, then the chatbot appeared in Viber. We realized that Telegram is mostly used by young people, but with Viber we reach older people. In a year we have 5000 requests in Telegram and 600 in Viber.
In the early days of strict quarantine, we developed an action plan on how to protect ourselves from domestic violence in lockdown conditions. These were clear recommendations that you need to know where to go, how to recognize violence in general. Thanks to our international partners, including the Population Fund, we replicated these recommendations — police went and posted these posters in homes and shops.
In my opinion, this extensive information campaign, carried out by both us and other departments, has resulted in an increase in the number of appeals. If we take the whole of 2019, then we had 209 thousand appeals, and only for 8 months of 2021 we have the same number of appeals for domestic violence - as for the whole of 2019. Also, the number of compiled administrative protocols and urgent prohibited orders in relation to those persons who are on the police register in the category of offender is increasing. You can see that the dynamics are increasing.
One of the latest developments that we are currently developing is electronic means of monitoring offenders who have committed violence.
How does it work in practice? Is a bracelet put on the abuser?
Yes, this happens by court decision. Such a system exists, among others, in Georgia and Spain. It aims to ensure safety for the injured person. That is, if the court decision does not approach the injured person, then the same court decision should determine the use of electronic means of monitoring compliance with this distance. If the offender comes closer, the affected person begins to signal about it by a mobile phone. We are now working out that this may be a separate application and the corresponding signal will be sent to the National Police. In this case, the police will travel to the scene and react preventively.
Wouldn't that increase the burden on the National Police system?
The police are called to serve and protect. Everyone's safety is a priority. Such measures are aimed at prevention, it is a necessary and effective means of responding to domestic violence and protecting the victim. To date, such mechanisms for controlling the offender, such as electronic bracelets, are not used in Ukraine, but there is good experience in other countries, and I believe that we should adopt it.
Again — the issue of amending the legislation, in particular the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses, the Law of Ukraine on the Prevention and Countering of Domestic Violence. There is already a draft law, registered in the Verkhovna Rada and is under consideration in the Committee on Law Enforcement Activities. We hope that the relevant changes will be voted on.
“MOBILE APPLICATION FOR VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE WILL HAVE A HIDDEN INTERFACE”
In August 2021, there was talk of allocating 274 million hryvnias from the state budget for local budgets to create a network of specialized support services for victims of domestic violence that would also interact with the police. At what stage is the formation of these services now?
It is very important that the government has allocated funds. As you can see, this can be done without the Istanbul Convention. With regard to the Istanbul Convention, I think that if it is adopted, it is really good, because we can more quickly accept changes, develop. Despite the fact that the convention has not been ratified, Ukrainian legislation is still changing, algorithms are being developed. For example, we review our views on the disaggregated statistics that accumulate in the National Police.
That is, you look at what is the correlation, for example, by age and gender among those who apply? What do you do with this information?
We analyze it. For example, by region, by age. For example, children also have gender, that's all and there are disaggregated statistics, the National Police accumulates it. By the way, only recently NPU began publishing statistics on domestic violence on its official website. They are now reviewing approaches to statistics. I would like to note that children in situations of domestic violence are one of the priorities that we are currently focusing on, as well as in rural areas.
Due to this subvention, it is planned to create 28 shelters, 39 day centers, 58 advisory services and 40 mobile brigades. It's all about the social sphere. If we talk about domestic violence, then there is a response from the police, and there are social services. The functioning of such an extensive system on the ground is a necessary and effective way to provide comprehensive assistance to those affected. Therefore, I am very glad that such centers are being created, because they, in cooperation with the police, help to approach the issue comprehensively.
By the way, the Istanbul Convention requires: 1 housing (for a woman and her children) per 10 thousand population. That is, in Kiev alone there should be 288 shelters.
In general, the creation of such social services, shelters and day centers is very necessary, because the police respond to the very fact of domestic violence, fix the protocol, issue a prohibition order, but if there is nowhere to turn, where to hide from the abuser for a certain time, it will not work. The system should work in a complex. Without this, the police will drive endlessly. Overcoming domestic violence will be very difficult. The creation of such services and the allocation of funds is already a positive step at the state level in the complex issue of overcoming domestic violence. When these specialized services are launched, you need to look separately by regions.
The injured person is not always able to call the police in the presence of the offender. You wrote on your Facebook page that a special mobile application is being developed for this. What is this app? How will it help?
Yes, this is a separate mobile application for victims of domestic violence. We are already developing it, we will have a beta version at the beginning of next year. What is interesting is that this application will have a hidden interface. That is, when we talk about a situation of domestic violence, we understand that most often the abuser controls the victim and if it installs such an application, then the abuser may suspect something. There will be no hint that this application is related to the notification of domestic violence, it will be disguised as another application, for example.
Next, we want this application to have the ability to really quickly call the police with a single button. The police will understand that there is a call from the application and will record the location and direct the mobile group there. We want there to be secure storage of photos, audio and video. The owner of the application can store information not on the phone, but in the cloud, so that the offender could not delete evidence.
The application will definitely be free. Another important question is how we disseminate information about this application. We will not be able to openly talk about what it is called, here you need to maintain some privacy.
“THERE ARE MANY GIRLS WHO PROVE BY THEIR EXAMPLE THAT THEY CAN MANAGE AND TAKE CARE OF A STAFF THAT IS MOSTLY MEN” About your personal experience in the ministry.
You became Deputy Minister of the Interior at the age of 29. Have you experienced ageism, that is, discrimination on the basis of age or sexism?
We have to start with the fact that, fortunately, I am not the only and not the first Deputy Minister of the Interior. There is gender equality here. Before becoming Deputy Minister of the Interior at 29, I was already the Deputy Chief of the Department of Patrol Police. It was a good experience, as the patrol police is the most numerous unit of the National Police.
Regarding representation and gender equality — yes, of course, there are more men, but the representation of women is quite high. Why did this happen? When the reform took place in 2015, a very large number of women, like me, came to the police. We then had a figure of somewhere around 27%, then that figure fell, now it is rising again. But nevertheless, in the patrol police there are a lot of women who occupy leadership positions, these are heads of departments, deputies, commanders of companies and battalions.
In our society, everything depends on the stereotypes that exist. For example, I remember how before there were no women in the police car at all. When a large number of girls came with the reform, it was somewhat difficult for them. They told me about it.
Gender equality today is about the fact that if there is a desire, we have to provide that opportunity. There are many girls who prove by their example that they can manage and take care of a staff that is mostly men. It is important that the agency promotes and is open to the formation of the potential of female leadership.
About the day of the defender and defender. You were the initiator of the renaming of this holiday with the use of the feminine. Why was it important to you?
Obviously, there are defenders and defenders. It's about making women's participation more visible. Society knows that women also serve, but in some places it does not attach much importance. Why should the day be all about defenders? The initiative to rename was born in the Ukrainian Association of Law Enforcement Representatives, among my colleagues, because we saw these posts on October 14 with greetings of exclusively men and understood that this should not be the case.
Discussion of such an initiative began in September 2019. Then the Association, under my signature, sent a corresponding letter to the Government Commissioner for Gender Policy with a proposal to revise the name of the holiday. I am sure that the renaming of this holiday will make women defenders even more visible in society. In addition, such recognition at the official level will contribute to the formation of the security and defense sector on the principle of professionalism and gender equality, which is especially important for women in stereotypically “non-female” positions.
“WE UNDERSTOOD THAT WE MUST UNITE, SUPPORT EACH OTHER AND PROMOTE WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP, TALK ABOUT STEREOTYPES” Ukrainian Association of Law Enforcement Representatives was founded by you in 2018.
Where did this idea come from?
The idea of creating such an associationarose even earlier, when I was in the patrol police. There were a large number of girls and women, we understood that we had to unite, support each other and promote female leadership, talk about stereotypes. In 2017, we began to discuss it, then there were conversations about what it would be: whether it was a trade union or an advisory body. In the end, we decided to be a public organization. Admission to it is completely voluntary.
As for the entrance, when we decided who we would take as members and members of the organization, we realized that we should not be closed to men, so as not to say that we had created a separate platform for ourselves. We are open. Please join, join, support women's leadership and gender equality.
Those men, representatives of law enforcement agencies, who join the association, they are very brave. These are, in particular, the heads of patrol police in the regions, for example, Rivne, Vinnytsia, Chernivtsi. First Deputy Chief of the Patrol Police Department Alexey Beloshitsky joined. Last year we even submitted his nomination to the International Association of Women in Police in the category “He for She”. As a result, we took the award because the international community recognized that Oleksiy Beloshitsky is gender-oriented and promotes female leadership in the ranks of the patrol police.
What new projects is the Association currently implementing?
We now have several new projects. First, it is the support of women and work with those girls who are on maternity leave and have children. As well as strengthening regional representation and their involvement. Next, we develop and plan to study English together in order to participate in international events and peacekeeping operations.
“THE REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN IN INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS TODAY IS SMALL, AND I WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE IT TO INCREASE”
During your speech in September 2021 at the Ukrainian Women's Congress, you talked about the increase of women among the national staff of the Ministry of Internal Affairs participating in international peace and security operations. Can you tell me more about what kind of operation it is?
A very interesting and necessary study was carried out precisely because Resolution 1325 and the national action plan require us to involve more women in peacekeeping operations. It involves conducting a study to this end to determine the state of affairs today, how to increase the representation of women in peacekeeping operations.
The study was conducted by the Ministry of the Interior with the support of UN Women. A significant number of representatives of the National Police and the National Guard were interviewed, because it is from these two units that people are sent to peacekeeping operations. There is a certain procedure for selecting and sending these people, the selection takes place on the basis of the National Academy of Internal Affairs, you need to pass an exam, knowledge of English is required, an interview is required.
We tried to understand the mood, whether people are willing to go into such operations and what challenges they have. Interestingly, most are considering the possibility of their participation in peacekeeping operations. For women, this is a very interesting situation. Challenges are such as ignorance of English, family household responsibilities, but there is no such gap with respect to men. The representation of women today is small, and I would very much like it to increase. We have a certain quota to involve our employees in international operations. And in order to increase the number of women in peacekeeping operations, we understand that we need to increase the quota itself. Now there are about 30 people, this is a very small number.
Please tell us about the cooperation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Facebook. For example, the Amber Alert child search system was recently launched.
For us now, the issue of a safe environment is a priority in the direction of our department's activities. This is also emphasized by the Minister of Internal Affairs Denis Monastyrsky in all his speeches, meetings and presentations. Therefore, the search for children is only a small part of the overall project on a safe children's environment. Facebook is now the platform that a very large number of our citizens use.
When a child disappears, it is very important in the early hours to take maximum measures to establish her last location with whom she was in contact. Therefore, now we are setting up cooperation with mobile operators to establish the exchange of information. The operator, with the permission of the parents, could show where the child is, with whom he communicates. Now it is only by a court decision, and we understand that this is time, and it is precious.
Amber Alert is also one of the initiatives that we have launched together with Facebook. To start receiving information about a missing child, you need to subscribe to this service. You will not receive information about all missing children in Ukraine, but only in the territory where you are located.
“POLICE BECOME A LEADER OF CHANGE” The units of the Ministry of Internal
Affairs provided protection for the Equality March 2021. For the first time in many years, the event passed without clashes with far-right groups. What do you think is the key to non-violent holding of the event this year? Has the attitude of the police become more tolerant towards the LGBT community?
Such marches are now taking place all over Ukraine. Several factors matter. This year's March was pretty good. I was also on the Maidan. Every year we see that the number of illegal actions towards participants of mass events decreases, this year there were no complaints. The police are trained in tolerance and non-discrimination. These are permanent trainings, which also take place at the local level, at the level of the national police, with the involvement of international consultants, experts of the UN structure.
This year, about 4,000 law enforcement officers were involved in the Equality March. This is less than in previous years. At the same time, violations of public order are becoming less every year. This is influenced by learning, as well as the fact that stereotypes, intolerant attitudes are destroyed in society. So the police then become the leader of change.
One of the problems in Ukraine is hate crimes, particularly targeting the LGBT community. How are the police currently dealing with this phenomenon? I am aware of the problem of recording potential crimes at the level of police protocols, when such crimes are noted as hooliganism and no aggravating motive is indicated.
You know, water sharpens stone. Now there are trainings with the involvement of the EU advisory mission, training with leaders on the need to form the rejection of violent behavior, to record hate crimes. The model should work in such a way that managers are taught first.
In addition, learning is a process that has to happen constantly. As for me, there should be two aspects in training: the preparation of the middle link, as well as the training of instructors. Now it is difficult to train each police officer individually, instructors are needed, and they already have to train other police officers.
“OUR STRENGTH IN THE TEAM, IN THE GOALS AND VISIONS THAT WE SET FOR OURSELVES, IN THE DESIRE TO ACHIEVE THESE GOALS” Is
there any information that I did not ask about, but it will be useful to our readers and readers?
Overcoming domestic violence is a priority task of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. We are very focused on this topic, we develop algorithms for the actions of police officers, new legislation, we analyze statistics. There is a political will to bring this topic to the level of the ministry in order to develop the best methods of policy and practice. Thanks to this political will, we have managed to attract a large number of police today, conduct training and somehow systematize it. If the Istanbul Convention is adopted, it will be an additional boost. Anything can be done.
In big cities, we talk about domestic violence, about discrimination, about gender equality. But not so in the villages. Information campaigns should be carried out, local self-government should also focus on this. If information arrives in Kyiv, then in the villages, unfortunately, many stereotypes remain - “beats means loves”, etc.
People sometimes don't understand what could be different. Therefore, with regard to domestic violence for next year, the priority is the countryside, children in a situation of domestic violence, these are witnesses, they will remember this all their lives. As for the villages, the project is now being scaled up — a community police officer. Like sheriffs in America. This is a police officer who undergoes selection and separate training, where a domestic violence unit is located. They will work in communities. The slogan “I live and work here” is planned. Such a local guy or woman who has all the information and knows everyone what is going on, knows the people.
What are the main challenges you see for your job at the Ministry of Internal Affairs next year?
Our strength is in the team, in the goals and visions we set for ourselves, in striving to achieve those goals. Now we have enough, you just need to draw up a plan and go to it. Nothing can be in the way if you confidently go to the goal.
If we talk about the strategic task and vision of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, it is generally a safe environment for every Ukrainian. It has many different components. Among them: safe childhood, countering bullying, barrier-free, zero tolerance for violence, preventing domestic violence, hate crimes, countering human trafficking. We face stereotypes in society, overcoming these stereotypes is painstaking but gradual work. How quickly this will happen in our society, the sooner we will get the desired result.
Author: Elizaveta Kuzmenko
Photo: Dmitry Larin
