Professional Competencies of Social Workers for Addressing Cases of Gender-Based Violence

Abstract

In recent years, the number of reported cases of domestic violence in Ukraine has been increasing. This rise may reflect either a real growth in violence or better detection mechanisms due to legislative reforms and Ukraine’s international commitments. A significant share of work with cases of domestic or gender-based violence is carried out by local social services in communities, as territorial communities are responsible for planning and providing social services.

The effectiveness of services provided to survivors largely depends on the level of training of social workers working in the responsible services and institutions. According to the legislation, training, retraining and advanced training of social workers can be carried out both within formal education and through non-formal education. At the same time, the lack of unified and approved professional training standards by the relevant central executive body, as well as the optional nature of the targeted educational activities, can create challenges in developing the necessary competencies of specialists.

This project aims to strengthen the capacity of community-based social workers in Ukraine to provide high-quality, survivor-centered services to domestic and/or gender-based violence survivors by developing the Training Program according to competencies-based approach.