Training of Employees of Women's Police Stations (Medellín)
Problems addressed
Violence against women
Community satisfaction with police work
Effectiveness

No Effect

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No Effect

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Life periods served
Adults (18 to 59 years)
Where the program was applied
Police station or police department
Country of application
Colombia
Description

The Family Police Stations of Medellín are linked to the National Family Welfare System (SNBF) and provide legal and psychosocial support to families. Among their main functions is to prevent, guarantee, restore, and repair the rights of family members in situations of domestic violence. These police stations are also responsible for referring victims, as appropriate, to other specialized institutions to ensure adequate follow-up of cases.
Between June and October 2014, a training program was developed for the staff of these police stations to strengthen their institutional capacity and the quality of care provided to women victims of violence.

Impact evaluations

A Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) was designed to evaluate the impact of the employee training program on client satisfaction, victimization and reporting of violence by women [1].
The study found positive impacts in terms of an increased rate of formal reporting of violence against women (+7%), an increased rate of formal reporting of intimate partner violence (+8%) and the perception of having been treated confidentially (77% in the treatment group vs. 69% in the control group). However, the study found no impact of the training on the incidence of intimate partner violence or on the perceived quality of the service provided.

Bibliographic reference

[1] Romero et al (2017). Capacitación de funcionarias de Comisarías de Familia en Medellín, Colombia sobre servicios amigables para víctimas de violencia íntima de pareja: Resultados de una evaluación de impacto, IDB. https://publications.iadb.org/en/capacitacion-de-funcionarias-de-comisa…

Information source