In 2012 we identified many women prisoners who were in prison because of crimes committed against their partners, after they and their children had suffered years of abuse. It seemed that no-one had heard their cries for help. These women pleaded with us to bring their plight to the attention of the authorities and help stop other women resorting to such desperate measures, resulting in imprisonment and indefinite separation from their children.
We established a working committee with representatives from the Police, Social Security and Prisons department and over the next five years saw some encouraging developments. In 2015, the Government introducing legislation making Domestic Violence a criminal offence with an immediate prison sentence after the second offence.
Since 2016 we have provided Life Skills training and coaching in the Police headquarters, in Ulaanbaator, for those who have been charged with a first offence of Domestic Violence or those in the community who recognise they have anger and violence problems and want skills and help to manage their behaviour.