- Coordinated community response is an intervention strategy developed by the Domestic Abuse Intervention Project (DAIP) in Duluth, Minnesota, USA. This strategy, often called the "Duluth model," is a "system of networks, agreements, processes and applied principles created by the local shelter movement, criminal justice agencies, and human service programs that were developed in a small northern Minnesota city over a fifteen year period. It is still a project in the making." From: Ellen Pence & Martha McMahon, A Coordinated Community Response to Domestic Violence (1999), The National Training Project, Duluth, Minnesota. Given the various health, legal, economic and social needs of dowry-related violence victims, coordinating the response across sectors will promote protection of survivors/complainants.
- Although there is no one model that will work in every context, the model used by DAIP in Duluth is one of the most successful coordinated community response projects and has been adapted for use in communities in many different parts of the world. See: Adapting the Duluth Model, StopVAW, The Advocates for Human Rights; and Coordinated Community Response, StopVAW, The Advocates for Human Rights.
- Legislation should include provisions that require agency collaboration and communication in addressing dowry-related and domestic violence. NGO advocates who directly serve victims should have leadership roles in such collaborative efforts. When police, judicial officials, NGOs that provide direct service to victims of violence, and medical providers coordinate their efforts to protect women of dowry-related violence and hold abusers accountable, these efforts are more successful. Coordination helps to ensure that the system works faster and better for victims; that victims are protected and receive the services they need; and that abusers are held accountable and cease their abusive behavior.
(See: Council of Europe General Recommendation Rec(2002)5, para. 27 Benefits of Coordination, StopVAW, The Advocates for Human Rights; Goals and Strategies of Intervention, StopVAW, The Advocates for Human Rights; and Community Response Participants, StopVAW, The Advocates for Human Rights; See also: section on Implementation of Laws)
- Many nations have provisions which mandate cooperation by state agencies.
Example: one of the objectives of Albania’s law is:
a. To set up a coordinated network of responsible authorities for protection, support and rehabilitation of victims, mitigation of consequences and prevention of domestic violence[.]
- Spain’s law states that “The female victims of gender violence are entitled to receive care, crisis, support and refuge, and integrated recovery services…Such services will act in coordination with each other and in collaboration with the Police, Violence against Women Judges, the health services, and the institutions responsible for providing victims with legal counsel, in the corresponding geographical zone.” Art. 19
Examples:
Spain: Spain’s law also provides for funding and evaluation of these coordination procedures. Article 19
India: In India, the Anna Nagar All Women Police Station establishes an NGO presence to offer services to victims. Police received an orientation, and a press release of crisis numbers in English and Tamil is sent to local newspapers. A co-coordinator available at the station provides information on NGO support services, and three crisis counselors available at the police station provide counseling. There is also a 24-hour crisis line. Police can request an NGO representative to accompany them to home calls. The coordinator and police inspector have together mapped out cases for follow-up consultation, as well as coordinate case documentation and management. The coordinator and a female police officer have conducted outreach to distribute crisis numbers to homes. (See: Prasanna Poornachandra, A Domestic Violence Coordinated Project - Going Beyond Victim Support, 2006, p. 115)