Sustained institutional training and capacity-building programs on addressing VAWG are essential for building gender-sensitive capacities in ministries and government institutions. This has been made clear by CEDAW when recommending “mandatory crosscultural gender and child-sensitivity training modules for police, criminal justice officials and professionals involved in the criminal justice system on the unacceptability of all forms of violence against women and on their harmful impact and consequences on all those who experience such violence” para. 24 (b) of general recommendation 19. The regional campaign on Zero Tolerance for VAWG (2019-2021) involves various State structures. It calls for the intervention of the ministries of the interior, justice, health, women’s affairs (where such exists), social affairs and education. Lessons learned from work on institutional response to violence against women and girls demonstrate that interventions are more likely to be efficient if training programmes are set up in all these departments, institutionalised and well planned to ensure the long-term commitment and investment essential for the comprehensive and cross-cutting treatment needed for this type of violence.
Different ministries in the index countries provide trainings to their staff in cooperation with CSOs, INGOs and UN Agencies, but these have not been institutionalized as a part of a policy or strategy.
In Tunisia, the law on eliminating violence against women 2017 states that Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Social Affaires must ensure provision of trainings for staff in health sector and social workers on violence against women and the work on institutionalising has started. The Ministry of Interior started to train the judicial police on the skills and knowledge for dealing with women victims of VAWG
