Today, at the headquarters of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a meeting was held between representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Romanian Police, the Romanian Gendarmerie, the National Agency for Equal Opportunities between Women and Men and representatives of civil society, along with over 200 representatives of police structures in the country who participated via videoconference.

The event was hosted by Mr. Secretary of State, Police Quaestor General Bogdan Despescu, Mrs. Secretary of State Luminița Popescu, President of the National Agency for Equal Opportunities between Women and Men, along with Mr. Police Quaestor-Chief Benone-Marian Matei, Inspector General of the Romanian Police and the Information and Public Relations Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, represented by Mrs. Police Quaestor Georgiana Ramona Dabija.

Also present in the meeting at the management level were the Public Order Directorate through Chief Police Commissioner Marius Mihai and the Institute for Research and Prevention of Crime through Chief Police Commissioner Raluca-Claudia Seucan.

The importance of collaboration and case referrals, the way police officers intervene in cases of violence and multi-disciplinary involvement were discussed. Useful tools in preventing violence were mentioned, such as the Bright Sky RO application, but also Apel 112 and the importance of continuing information and awareness campaigns. The commitment of the Romanian Police to preventing and combating domestic violence and the fact that starting with 2017, domestic violence is a priority of the institution were also reaffirmed.

Necuvinte Association was represented by our colleague, Simona Voicescu, who recalled the package of proposals sent to the ministry at the beginning of June, but also the need to continue the training processes for police officers on the topic of trauma informed intervention. She also pointed out that as long as we do not have specialised structures in the Romanian Police to manage domestic and gender-base violence cases, with all the good intentions and joint meetings, progress will continue to be very slow. Street police officers, those we most easily recognise as being in uniform, have an enormous workload and a very wide diversity of cases they cover in the field of public order, or violence against women is not just a public order issue. Our colleague also pointed out that these police officers who cover so much, including the issuance of temporary protection orders with the installation of electronic monitoring equipment, are also the most visible. They are the first responders, the ones who reflect the image of the Romanian Police.

Necuvinte Association has had this type of dialogue with the Romanian Police for over 12 years and there are aspects highlighted in this meeting that were discussed in a similar setting 10 years ago. There are changes that require time and investment and we will continue to support this partnership, but there are also changes that only require institutional will.

It was also a pleasant surprise to discuss with old partners from local structures, present in the videoconference and we were happy to know they are still dedicated to changes for the better.

Thank you for the invitation and partnership.