Legal Project Manager, Markella Papadouli and Legal Project Assistant, Ralitsa Peykova attended the 3-day conference on “Domestic and gender based violence: Taking steps for violence free lives”, that took place in Zagreb between 29 November and 1 December 2017. On day two of the conference, Markella, who is an expert lawyer on asylum law, led a well-attended workshop addressing the problems and challenges in the overlap between domestic violence and gender based violence on one hand and asylum claims on the other. The workshop also looked into the fundamental theoretical principles on asylum and domestic and gender based violence alongside the relevant CJEU/ ECtHR jurisprudence on the issue.
Following the workshop, Ralitsa participated in a panel discussion addressing the UK’s good practises in dealing with domestic and gender based violence. Ralitsa discussed the “Ending violence against women and girls” Strategy 2016-2020, the range of criminal offences for acts which could constitute domestic violence in the UK and some of the remedies available to victims of domestic violence.
On day three, Markella address the issue of dealing with a hidden crime in modern society and the importance of early legal intervention with regards to potential victims of human trafficking and modern slavery.