Community organizations, especially those working with LGBTQ+ people, often face challenges in establishing effective cooperation with the police. Indeed, initial interactions with law enforcement representatives can be daunting, marked by ambiguity and a lack of clear protocols.
We believe that organization representatives should have the essential knowledge and skills, which is why on October 22, we held the training, «Collaboration Between LGBTQI+ Organizations and Police: Advocacy for Bill 5488 and Hate Crime Prevention». As a result, we:
✔️ Gained a better understanding of police operations;
✔️ Exchanged contacts;
✔️ Identified cooperation challenges for both sides;
✔️ Discussed the importance of passing Bill 5488.
The event brought together police representatives and civil organizations from various regions. This networking component is crucial, as building connections directly in local communities is essential for future effective collaboration.
For years, Gender Stream has consistently worked on building bridges and strengthening ties between the human rights movement, the police, and state institutions. We believe that this training marked another step toward creating a safe, just, and democratic society and will yield positive outcomes for the civil sector’s future work.
We thank everyone who participated, especially representatives from the Department of Chief Inspectorate and Human Rights Compliance. We trust that, step by step, we will build mutual trust and effective methods of cooperation between the police and the civil sector.
This training was conducted by Gender Stream with the support of RSFL.