The Regional Secretariat for Labour and Social Solidarity, through the Regional Directorate for Equality of Opportunities, promotes during the month of July a number of initiatives to provide technical training for the different agents dealing with domestic violence in the Azores, as well as to raise the awareness of the community for this problem.

In this context, a training course on domestic violence addressed at specialised technicians will be held at the Auditorium of the Ponta Delgada Nursery School, from Monday until July 4. This initiative, which is integrated in a number of training actions that will be promoted on various islands of the Archipelago, counts upon the collaboration of the Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality and is taught by certified teachers of the Centre for Domestic Violence/Gender Violence.

A meeting to monitor the team of technicians applying the Psycho-Educational Rehabilitation programme for aggressors “Contigo” (With You) will take place at the headquarters of the Directorate-General for Social Insertion on São Miguel on July 1. The monitoring action will be lead by Rui Abrunhosa, from the University of Minho, under the protocol of the “Contigo” Programme between that University, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Directorate-General for Social Insertion and the Regional Directorate for Equality of Opportunities.

Furthermore, the work group in charge of the creation of the Regional Plan to Prevent and Fight Against Domestic Violence will meet at the Social Work Institute in Ponta Delgada on July 1. This meeting will be lead by Manuel Lisboa, from the New University of Lisbon.

Information sessions to disseminate the Psycho-Educational Rehabilitation programme for aggressors “Contigo,” created under the Network of  Integrated Support to Women at Risk on São Miguel, will be held on the islands of Faial, Pico and S. Jorge on July 16, 17 and 18, respectively.

These sessions will be promoted by the institutional partners of the “Contigo” Programme, the Regional Directorate for Equality of Opportunities, the Azores Delegation of the Directorate-General for Social Insertion, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the PSP (Public Safety Police) and the Social Work Institute.

These initiatives are the result of the announcement made by the Regional Secretariat for Labour and Social Solidarity concerning the creation of a Regional Plan to Prevent and Fight Against Domestic Violence, composed by various domains, such as information, training, awareness raising and education to prevent domestic violence.