Experience of at least five years, one of the reforms in the draft of the new regulation for shelters and care centers for victims of violence in Ecuador

At least five years of “specific experience in violence issues based on gender towards women ”, as well as five years of “general experience in projects from social development” son two of the six minimum requirements with which the so-called must have comprehensive care centers and shelters who attend and receive to victims of gender violence like women and their children.

It also adds the experience they must demonstrate in advising institutions and organizations on issues related to gender violence, as well as the infrastructure and adequate equipment to provide comprehensive care. Additionally, there are the “Strategic Alliances in networks related to the issues of eradication of violence ”and the general data of the social organization (such as statute, the legal representative or RUC and Directive Registry).

These minimum requirements are in the draft o draft of the so-called Regulations for the Selection Procedure, Subscription of Agreements and Operation of Comprehensive Care Centers and Shelter Homes for Strengthening Comprehensive Care for Victims of Gender-based Violence in Ecuador, which is disseminated by the Secretariat of Human Rights and which was Uploaded or uploaded to its website (www.derechoshumanos.gob.ec) at noon on January 11.

The Human Rights Secretariat, that is in charge of regulation and control of the operation from the shelters and care centers for the victims of violence in the country, according to Ecuadorian legislation, started with your staff to hand over at the national level the draft of this project to organizations that care for and house abused women and their families (children). The dissemination process of this new regulation will be until January 18, according to the entity. And it started on Monday the 10th.

With this, the centers and houses that want to provide their support in the fight against gender violence in Ecuador will be able to present their proposals for the new agreements and operations.

By the end of 2021, activists in favor of women’s rights they exposed, especially in social networks, your concern because at the end of 2021 supposedly, the Ecuadorian government did not guarantee the “budgets sufficient and efficient ”for the centers and houses that serve victims of domestic and gender violence. Even there was talk of possible closures of these places due to the lack of economic resources to continue with free care for citizens.

But the afternoon of December 28 Lastly, the Secretariat for Human Rights published a statement in which it indicated that until that date all the values ​​of 2021 had been canceled to comprehensive care centers and shelters that had an agreement signed with the entity.

System to prevent gender violence will only work if a full budget is allocated; if they provide sufficient services and clear protocols, without revictimization, DD advocates say. H H.

In that statement it was also announced that the budget for 2022 had already been awarded and that the date for the public call for the signing of the new agreement with the care centers and shelters was only pending to be announced.

Then he January 3 from 2022, the entity indicated that they communicated “Verbally and in writing to social organizations that had the budget for the transfer of resources corresponding to the months January, February and March (of this year)”.

And that at the same time they were already disseminating the reforms to the regulation and care model (draft that was published in full on January 11). There it was added that the entity will make an open call for all comprehensive care centers and shelters to present their proposals.

“The budget for the agreements (only with the houses and centers) this 2022 exceeds $ 2 million, which will be delivered under technical criteria to civil organizations with experience in care and shelter for women survivors of violence ”, it was emphasized.

Last January 7, Bernarda Ordóñez Moscoso, Secretary of Human Rights, announced that that day they signed 21 agreements with comprehensive care centers and shelters to guarantee care during this first quarter. She also stated that the regulations that were to be disseminated with the organizations had already been reformed and that they were working on the prevention and eradication of violence against women and girls.

Ordóñez also published, on his social networks, that it was the first time that the Government increased to $ 24 million the budget to work on prevention, between 2022 and 2025, since in Ecuador there is the Law to Prevent and Eradicate Violence Against Women, in force since February 2018.

The draft of this regulation also indicates that social organizations, as they are considered to be comprehensive care centers and shelters in Ecuador, must present a technical team what will be made up of at least one administrator, a lawyer, a psychologist and a social worker.

The profiles, skills and functions of this technical team are also detailed in the annexes of this draft regulation that has a total of 53 pages, and which also contains the obligations that these centers and shelters must have; the guidelines and minimum conditions for its operation; the attention to give; routes and protocols; items financed by the Secretariat for Human Rights, among others.

There, at shelters they are defined as “national legal persons from non-profit private law, that provide protection services, comprehensive and specialized care, from approaches to gender, human rights, interculturality, intergenerationality, comprehensiveness and intersectionality, to women, to their daughters and children up to 12 years of age, in a situation of domestic violence ”.

To the comprehensive care centers they are also considered national legal persons non-profit private law, “which provide comprehensive and interdisciplinary care services (legal, psychological and social) to girls, boys, adolescents and women victims of domestic or sexual violence”.

Obligations of shelters and care centers, according to project

Article 41 of the project speaks of the obligations of comprehensive care centers and shelters for victims of violence during the agreements. There are 21 in this section, not counting other requirements set forth in the draft of these regulations, published on January 11. Here, part of these requirements:

• Safeguard victims. Protect the life and integrity of women victims of violence, and of children and adolescents who are under the protection of shelters.
• Comprehensive care. Provide comprehensive care to victims of gender violence free of charge and in a timely manner. The shelters will attend 24 hours a day, seven days a week, while the comprehensive centers will attend from Monday to Friday, eight hours a day, in addition to emerging cases at any time.
• Remuneration. Contract and make the payments of salaries and other legal benefits to the professionals who provide their services for the comprehensive care of the victims.
• Budgets. Adequately execute all the items established in the Technical Guide for the Presentation of Proposals.

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• Role fulfillment. Guarantee that the designated work team fulfills its functions in the reception centers or houses, as well as the objectives in accordance with the proposal presented and approved by the Secretariat for Human Rights.
• They will give trainings. The professionals of the center or shelter will give workshops, trainings, conferences, seminars and carry out promotional and awareness-raising activities on issues of violence and gender, human rights, interculturality and violence, among others; or issues related to the restitution of the rights of victims. These events will be aimed at citizens, civil society organizations and victims of violence.
• Personnel changes. Inform the administrator of the agreement in the event of changes in professionals and proceed to the section of the new professional based on the profiles established in the regulations.
• Fulfill offer. Execute all activities, according to the schedule and budget stated in the proposal.
• Means. Report the actions carried out for the execution of the approved proposal, as well as the use of resources.
• Record. Collect and record all information about the care provided to users of comprehensive care centers and shelters, in accordance with the guidelines of the Secretariat for Human Rights.
• Backups. Mandatory reporting and delivery of the corresponding financial support to the Secretariat for Human Rights, through the administrator of the agreement, during the first five days of the following month, a report of coverage of care, technical and financial will be made in accordance with the formats of the Secretariat …
• Reports. Present monthly reports of attention, technical and financial coverage to the Secretariat of Human Rights, through the administrator of the agreement, also in the first five days of the following month, in which the financial support of the executed values ​​will be attached.
• Return resources. Restitution to the Secretariat of Human Rights the economic resources that were not executed or justified, without prejudice to administrative, civil and criminal responsibilities that may be determined by the control entity due to mismanagement of assigned public resources, says article 41, among others that are in the project that can be downloaded at this link: https://www.derechoshumanos.gob.ec/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/PROYECTO-DE-REGLAMENTO-2021-CASAS-Y-CENTROS-REVISION-FINAL .pdf which is also on the website of the Secretariat for Human Rights. (I)