SHC

Marijampolė County Women's Activity Center

Specialized Help Center

What is a Specialized Help Center (SHC)?

  • As stated in the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Protection against Domestic Violence, the Specialized Help Center is a public authority that provides specialized complex assistance to victims of violence. Residents of all Lithuanian municipalities can contact them.
  • The activity of specialized helpdesks is governed by a description of the activities of Specialized Help Centers approved by Minister of Social Security and Labor of the Republic of Lithuania 2012 May 7 by Order no. A1-227 "Approval of the Description of Activities of Specialized Help Centers".
  • Specialized Helpdesk (hereinafter referred to as "SPC"), having received from the police information on personal data of domestic and domestic violence, as soon as possible, at the latest on the next working day of the SPC, by phone or other means and means communicates with a person who has experienced domestic violence and offers specialized complex help.
  • Specialized complex help is also provided if a person who has experienced domestic violence is contacted by the SPC himself.

What can the SHC offer to a person who has experienced violence or threat thereof?

If a person who has experienced domestic violence receives specialized complex assistance, the consultant:

  • informs, advises and / or mediates on issues related to domestic violence;
  • Provides psychological and / or legal assistance. If you need the help of a specialized psychologist and / or lawyer, the time of consultation with the person who has experienced domestic violence is matched. If the SPC is not a psychologist and / or a lawyer, the SPC mediates that the victim of domestic violence is provided with the necessary assistance in another state and municipal institution, institution or non-governmental organization;
  • Provides information on the availability of specialized complex assistance provided by the SPC;
  • together with an experienced victim of domestic violence, develops a plan of action and aid measures
  • Matches a person who has experienced domestic violence with the most appropriate way to provide further specialized complex assistance;
  • mediates violence at the request of an experienced person to provide medical assistance to a person who has experienced domestic violence.
  • In order to provide specialized complex assistance to a person who has experienced domestic violence and to ensure the effectiveness and complexity of the specialized complex assistance provided, where appropriate, co-operate with VTAS, municipal authorities, elderships or non-governmental organizations providing assistance to persons, institutions and / or organizations providing violence. accommodation, lodging or other necessary services, with the police, health care facilities, law enforcement agencies and institutions, etc.

If children were victims or witnesses of violence:

  • If it turns out that the children were witnesses of domestic violence and / or children were living in an environment of violence and / or were subjected to violence directly against them, the SPC advisers should immediately, at the latest on the next working day of the SPC , by e-mail or telephone informs VASAS. Also informs the police if a person who has experienced domestic violence has contacted the SPC independently.

Specialized psychological assistance provided by specialized help centers

  • Critical state intervention;
  • Specialized psychologist help;

A psychologist working in a specialized help center:

  • - Establishes a stable relationship of trust and cooperation with customers, supports their aspiration to free themselves from violent relationships.
  • - Provides individual specialized psychological support - psychological counseling.
  • - Encourages customers to believe in their ability to make independent decisions.
  • - Encourages a person to talk openly with children about their experiences in the family where they are being abused and look for ways to do it.
  • - Performs psychological diagnosis of the case - assessment of post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) expression using a special methodology and, if necessary, draws a conclusion to the court for psychological harm caused by violence.
  • - Cooperates closely with other SPC consultants and specialists, regularly presents and supervises individual work with SPC clients.

Specialized legal aid provided by specialized helpdesks

  • A lawyer working in a specialized help center:
  • Prepare the following documents at the request of the victim: - a written request for information on facts known to the police commission against violence against them, procedural steps taken and decisions taken (see Annex 1);
  • - Request for or change of supervision measures (see Annex 3)
  • - Request for the initiation of a pre-trial investigation into violence against young people, if, for example, cases of violence against children, including sexual violence, are detected during the cooperation with the SPC;
  • - Appeals to the Prosecutor's Office for police action for acts or omissions by serious or unlawful officials;
  • - Complaints about unlawful and unjustified termination of a pre-trial investigation
  • other documents. l As far as possible, for example, after receiving additional funding, the following civil documents are also prepared by the SPC lawyer:
  • civil action for damages in a criminal case, - civil divorce action for the fault of the spouse, including a civil claim for interim relief (see Legal Module), - responses to other party's claims, highlighting the fault of the other spouse and the facts known to the SPC, etc. .
  • Warns of ineffectiveness of mediation and possible harm the victim may suffer if mediation is applied. l Recommends the establishment of a procedure for communicating with children in court in order to reduce the risk of violent manipulation of children. On a case-by-case basis, informs about legal possibilities to limit the father's power to a violent partner or spouse.
  • Never offer customers a "wait", "good deal with their partners", expect that "everything will resolve itself" because it knows that the biggest threat to women's health and life comes from the divorce process. Knows that similar suggestions act as demotivation and can lead to a new turn of violence, encourage the client to "give one more chance" to the abuser, which can be very dangerous in the current situation.
  • IMPORTANT - The SPC lawyer does not offer a scenario for spouses to stand out by consensus (being "cheaper"). If in five or fifteen years of marriage people have failed to agree on simpler things, such as the payment of utilities, taking care of children in extracurricular education, etc., it is difficult to expect that an agreement on divorce can be reached. As already mentioned, feeling a loss of dominance over the victim, the abuser deliberately creates an ever-increasing victim's addiction by manipulating children, property, and family ties, and often begins to become even more violent in order to discourage the victim from independent decisions. Therefore, if the marriage is attempted to be terminated by consensus, the woman is in danger of being stuck in the negotiation process for a long time. Conversely, if a pre-trial investigation into domestic violence is initiated, this increases the possibility of divorce on the basis of the spouse's fault, which gives the injured person additional leverage in determining the place of residence of the child with a non-destructive parent (mother) and allowing for a departure from the principle of equal sharing of family assets. In this case, it is also possible to ask the court to pay the costs of representation, stamp duty, etc. from the guilty party.
  • Domestic violence is a crime and a violation of human rights attributable to the public interest as a result of its harm to society (Article 1 (1) AAA), so that the victim and the perpetrator are clearly distinguished here. Responsibility for violent behavior rests solely on what the peculiarities of working with people experiencing domestic violence 44 such behavior, i. The victim of crime and the victims of crime, in accordance with the Law on Protection against Domestic Violence, are provided with state-guaranteed specialized complex assistance provided by the SPC. Acting under the Law on Protection against Domestic Violence, the SPC is currently the only institution charged with representing the state in the interests of the victim, exercising his civilian authority and mediating in the institutions for the purpose of violating his rights

Social worker services and comprehensive family services

  • It is important to note that there is no family service and cannot be considered as specialized assistance in domestic violence / domestic violence against women. This is because these services are provided without a healthy family and dysfunctional patriarchal, such that the needs of all family members are subordinated to one person, i. to the satisfaction of the abuser, his distorted power and control. In such a family, lacking resources, they are immediately redistributed for the benefit of the perpetrator, so it can and often happens that the abuser has the resources at his disposal, and all other family members experience exclusion and even poverty. It is not necessary to expect positive results in providing comprehensive services to the family as long as there is no recognition, naming and prevention of domestic violence. The first step must always be to separate the perpetrator from the violence and the family who is subjected to violence, to publicize the crimes committed by him, to bring the law enforcement agencies to justice and to punish the perpetrator. Women and children should be provided with specialized help whose effectiveness can only be expected if violence ends.
  • Article 2 of the Law on Social Services Paragraphs 6 and 7, which define the concepts of social risk family and social risk adult, do not distinguish between a family that is abusing alcohol and psychotropic substances, and parents lack social skills, are unable to care for their children, etc., and families with one member, most often a man, Violence against others, mostly women and children. What's more, a person experiencing psychological, physical or sexual abuse or domestic violence, or the risk of experiencing it, is stigmatized by identifying him with beggars, strangers, criminals, and so on. Meanwhile, the ASAA defines domestic violence as a crime and violation of human rights (ASAA, Art. 1). In other words, the Law on Social Services contradicts both the provisions of the ASAI and international instruments which state that domestic violence is gender-based violence and violation of women's human rights. This contradiction must be corrected without delay in order to avoid the stigmatization of violent and violent persons, thus ensuring the opportunity to disclose the violence they experience in the family, preventing the person from losing dignity and status in the community. Often, women are reluctant to seek help and are afraid to disclose the violence they are experiencing because they are justifiably afraid that they will be "at risk" and at the same time they and their children will find themselves in social exclusion.
  • Equally important is the fact that, in terms of social exclusion, the field of social attention of the social worker is severely reduced. All the attention is paid to this small part of the society, which is characterized by the above mentioned social problems, as well as those receiving social benefits (and in Lithuania there are 5 - 7%!). Meanwhile, it is known that domestic violence equally affects all social strata and families, regardless of income, education, position or position in society. Violent and addictive to alcohol or narcotics, and total abstinence. By providing assistance under the general model of social services and without taking into account the different situations of the victim of violence and the unequal position of their perpetrator, their strength and power, the interests of those who are not in the same situation, which are completely different, are not recognized. For example, the disclosure of violence would benefit the victim by allowing her to seek help, but the abuser is by no means responsible for the criminal acts she carries out.
  • According to the Law on Social Services, a social worker is in a difficult situation, because the law regulating his work does not provide for the possibility to deviate from the definitions of a social risk family and social person, and implies equality between both partners and equal responsibility for what is happening in their family. In this way, the conceptualization of the problem is fundamentally wrong in programming a social worker's failure, preventing him from dealing effectively with domestic violence or domestic violence against women and children, and increasing the latency of this violent crime.
  • l It is important that social services are actively involved in interinstitutional cooperation with key actors in the implementation of the Law on Protection against Domestic Violence, i. SPC, Police and VAS.

THEN IMPORTANT

  • Social workers, specialists in social institutions need to have expertise in coping with domestic violence, understanding the causes, dynamics and consequences of violence for the victim and society as a whole. Equally important is to have a fair view of the worldview on the subject of violence and abuse - to be on the victim's side, to support his efforts to help and protect against domestic violence, to help the victim disclose the facts of the violence and to seek the perpetrator's responsibility for the crimes committed, as well as to timely target the victims of violence to regional SPC. Training of specialized social service providers is necessary to help shape the right attitudes towards the phenomenon of domestic violence.
  • Municipal Budget Institutions, Social Services Centers do not provide specialized assistance to victims of violence, so it is important that, when faced with the victims of this crime, social workers inform those affected by violence and abuse about the possibility of state-guaranteed specialized assistance and target them to regional SPCs. and help will be provided.
  • l A social worker confronted with domestic violence in situations where he tries to work with the whole family without making a distinction between the victim and the abuser easily creates a conflict of interest, which increases the risk of professional burnout. Regular activities are needed to prevent these things. It is recommended that social institutions organize activities of interviews - supervisors, mutual support and professional problem solving groups.
  • Depending on regional differences, specialized forms of assistance may vary, adapting flexibly to local needs. The overall telephone counseling model chosen by the SPC ensures effective cooperation between the person subject to violence and the victim and the SPC in the vast majority of cases. However, municipalities and regional SPCs in remote areas can work together to prepare and meet victims with SPC consultants and specialists in the neighborhoods of the wards, closer to the victim's place of residence. A district social worker would become an intermediary here between a person who is subjected to violence and a specialized SPC that can help him.

A child who has witnessed domestic violence or lives in an environment of violence.

  • Domestic violence against women is also violence against their children. The Lithuanian legal framework has established an advanced attitude that a child who has witnessed domestic violence or is living in an environment where violence has been committed is a person who has suffered violence (Article 2 (4) of the Law on Protection against Domestic Violence).
  • The description of the SPC's activities indicates that the SPC does not provide direct child support, but mediates the provision of such assistance to the child affected by the violence, which is organized by the VAS and organizes the provision of assistance according to the nature of the activity. In its turn, the SPC's activity description defines: "If children are witnesses of domestic violence and / or children live in an environment of violence and / or have been subjected to violence directly against them, the SPC advisers should immediately, at the latest, work for the SPC. informs VTAS and the police by email or telephone on the day after the clarification of the information, if the person who has experienced domestic violence has applied to the SPC independently ”
  • The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) imperatively states that, except in exceptional circumstances, a young child may not be distinguished from his mother (Preamble, Principle 6), so it is quite obvious that it would be wise to decide on the child's abandonment with his mother or institutional care. leave it to the mother. The child is protected from further violence by removing the perpetrator from a nearby environment and applying child-specific safeguards, such as the obligation of the perpetrator to move and reside in the affected family, not to come closer than a certain distance, not to look for contacts, not to visit certain places such as kindergarten, school, etc. .. Only by providing a safe home environment for a child can it be provided with effective help, psychological or any other.

The role of child rights protection units in domestic violence

  • When she is recognized as a victim of domestic violence, she is usually given protection, but not her children, although they are also subject to violence and abuse under the ASAA. In all these cases, it is necessary to ensure that children are also protected. Representing the child's interests, VAS specialists should contact the law enforcement authorities with a request for protection measures for children who have witnessed domestic violence or are living in an environment where violence is committed. Also, if necessary, actively initiate a pre-trial investigation into violence against a minor.
  • Children, like their mothers who have been subjected to domestic violence, need help, but help to children will be ineffective if their safety is not guaranteed. Without removing the perpetrator from the close environment of the child without resorting to prosecution and punishing the perpetrator for violence, the child is sent an incorrect message that the problem is himself or his mother, not the abusive father.
  • It is recommended that the predominant practice of replacing child abuse practices be replaced by good practice that protects children and their mothers from domestic violence, limiting the perpetrator's chances of further violence, as all this has negative consequences for physical, mental and social development of children.
  • In case of violent communication with children, it is recommended that these meetings be organized under the supervision of a specialist, thus avoiding the repeated trauma of the woman and her children.
  • It is recommended that the predominant practice of replacing child abuse practices be replaced by good practice that protects children and their mothers from domestic violence, limiting the perpetrator's chances of further violence, as all this has negative consequences for physical, mental and social development of children.
  • It is recommended that child support psychological services, where VTAS directs children, work closely with regional SPCs assisting their mothers. Employees of psychological services must have special knowledge of the causes, dynamics, consequences of violence in the vicinity of the nearby Methodological Recommendation 51, and follow the notion that the donor organizations must be on the side of the victims.
  • Practices should be abandoned when VAS specialists invite both victim and perpetrator to interinstitutional meetings at the same time. World Good Practices and International Documents, such as the EU Directive on the Victims of Crime, of which Lithuania is a party, strongly advocates avoiding a victim-violent meeting. The victim must be given the opportunity to tell about the incident without the perpetrator being involved in order to avoid repeated trauma to the victim, as well as the fact that the information provided by the victim in the presence of the perpetrator will not be complete. The EU Directive on the Victims of Crime, the provisions of which have been transposed into the Lithuanian legal framework, came into force in 2016. March 1, clearly states that the victim has the right to avoid contact with the offender (Article 19). The Directive recognizes that women who are victims of gender-based violence often need special support and protection because of the high risk of secondary and repeat victimization, intimidation and retaliation associated with such violence (Preamble to the Victims' Rights Directive, paragraph 17).
  • Professional SPC consultants must know the causes, dynamics and consequences of domestic violence, have psychological counseling skills, legal knowledge, and expertise in trauma psychology. Also be aware of the human rights discourse and have a certain world-wide perspective that allows you to look at the situation through the interests of the victim and his legitimate expectations, and always be on the victim's side.
  • Research data and good world practice show that true prevention is in all cases a strengthening of the victim, his civil empowerment, the provision of effective and timely assistance to him, the creation of a friendly environment for the victim in law enforcement agencies, and effective interinstitutional cooperation to prevent secondary and recurrent trauma. / li>

SPC-1

ACTIVITIES OF THE SPECIALIZED ASSISTANCE CENTER

  1. Having received information from police officers about the case of violence within 48 hours by phone, email by mail or by direct contact with an experienced person.
  2. Offer help to a person who has experienced violence:

– Helps to overcome critical state;

  • Provides comprehensive support
  • Provides psychological support
  • Provides legal assistance
  • Informs, advises on issues of concern;
  • Supports and escorts to institutions;
  • Organizes or mediates tolene help in other institutions;
  • Intermediate, at the person’s request, for medical assistance for a person who has suffered violence;

MARIJAMPOLE SPECIALIZED AID CENTER FUNCTIONS:
BRANDS
VILKAVIŠKIO RAJ
MARIJAMPOLE SAV.
GOALS SAV.
CALVAR SAV.

POLICE ACTIONS ON THE EVENT PLACE:

  • The police arrive at the scene to find out if there is a crime in the near environment and there are signs of violence;
  • Captures, investigates, and investigates the event site where maybe the act of violence may have occurred;
  • If minors (children) remain in need of medical care or are physically or mentally unattended and those who are not able to take care of themselves together, the question of care for these persons is addressed;
  • In the case of signs of physical and sexual violence or other threats to the health and life of a person, the circumstances in which the person’s safety will not be removed shall be presented to the police;
  • Once you find that the abuser has a weapon, a weapon and ammunition are taken;
  • Find out if there have been cases of domestic violence in the past, when, how often, they have been reported, or reported to the police, a specialized helpdesk and the Child Protection Service;
  • Explanation whether the subject of the violence is not subject to safeguards for the victim of violence;
  • Whether a minor was a witness to a criminal offense, or whether he or she lives in an environment where he or she is abused;
  • Informs a person who has experienced violence about the possibility of receiving help;
  • Listens to the official report on domestic violence;

DETERMINING THE FACTS CONCERNING DEFENSE IN THE NEAR ENVIRONMENT, STARTING THE FUTURE INVESTIGATION:

  1. If a suspect has left the scene:
  • is being searched for and suspected of being arrested
  • Surveys a suspect;
  1. If the suspect is not found for an extended period of time and is unknown:

A decision is made to recognize a person as a suspect and to publish a search;

Publish search;

  1. If the suspect was found at the scene:
  • can be detained for up to 48 hours
  • Report suspected within 24 hours
  • Survey of suspects within 24 hours
  • Addressing the issue of remanding;

 

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  • Appointed by a court judge or court order:
  • arrest;
  • house arrest;
  • Separation from the victim;

Appointed by police officers:

  • Obligation to periodically enroll in the police station, a written pledge not to leave;
  • deposit;
  • retrieval of documents;

 

Pre-trial steps:

  • Local review occurs
  • Victim Survey;
  • Witness surveys;
  • Blocked;
  • Human body examination or bodily exercise performed by a forensic expert (to determine the extent of the disorder)
  • Verification of impressions in the butterfly
  • Other process bills (search, poetry, etc.) provided by the CCP of the Republic of Lithuania

Deletion of a pre-trial investigation n

  • not collecting enough data to justify the suspect’s guilt (LR Criminal Code, Art. 1, Art. 2, p. 2
  • When it became clear during the pre-trial investigation that there are circumstances that prevent criminal proceedings (Article 3 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania)
  • Exemption from Criminal Liability when the Culprit and Victim Arrive (Article 12 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania, Art. 38 CC).
  • Reconciliation is possible through a pre-trial investigation by a pre-trial investigation officer as well as by referral to the court.

End of pre-trial investigation:

  • referral of a pre-trial investigation to an accused act (Article 220 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania);
  • Application of a court order (Article 418 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania);
  • The pre-trial investigation ends with an accelerated procedure (Article 426 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania);

Pre-trial investigation must be carried out within the shortest possible time, but not beyond:

  • Three months for a criminal offense
  • Six months of minor, minor and negligent crimes
  • nine months for serious and very serious crimes

Due to the complexity of the case, time limits may be extended for large or other important circumstances.

Police can report cases of violence:

Providing support to abusers

Obligatory or violent behavioral exchange may take part in programs conducted at Marijampolė County Men’s Crisis Center:

  • Address: Varpo g. 13, Marijampolė
  • Tel .: 8 678 72262;
  • Email : marvkc3@gmail.com
  • Web page: www.mvkc.eu.lt
About us
The mission of Marijampolė County Women’s Activity Center is to improve women’s quality of life through information, counseling, representation, support and education.
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