MENTORSKA PODRŠKA – INOVATIVNI VID PODRŠKE PROFESIONALCIMA KOJI RADE NA SLUČAJEVIMA NASILJA U PORODICI
MENTOR SUPPORT - INNOVATIVE TYPE OF SUPPORT FOR PROFESSIONALS WORKING ON CASES OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Summary/Abstract: In order to improve the multisectoral response to cases of violence against women and domestic violence at the local level, a new model of work of the Gender Center has been proposed - mentoring support, as an innovative form of providing support to professionals working on cases of violence. This paper presents the methods of mentoring support, the methodology of implementing mentoring support in practice, as well as the results of the application of mentoring support in practice. In terms of execution and methodology, the mentoring support is achieved through the application of focus groups as a special qualitative method of group work with participants whose key source was the analysis and interpretation of interactions among participants. The application of mentoring support methods enables easier detection of challenges that professionals face in their work, on the basis of which recommendations for improving their work on cases of violence are defined. Recommendations for improving the multisectoral response arose from the analysis of conversations within all focus groups, and included interventions in education and support programs for professionals in the system of direct support to subjects of protection and inter-sectoral cooperation practices at the local community level. The paper also presents the results of the evaluation of mentoring work realized through two cycles of mentoring support in a total of 13 focus groups, which showed that professionals employed in the subjects of protection had a very positive attitude towards this way of providing support. Mentoring support, realized through visits to local teams, is seen by professionals as a good and valuable platform for exchanging experience of all representatives of subjects of protection, but also for obtaining advice for changes and improvement of existing work practices. The provision of mentoring support to multisectoral teams by the participants was assessed as affirmative and very important for improving multisectoral cooperation, and one of the recommendations was that mentoring visits should be organized more often, in order to maintain continuity of cooperation and communication between field professionals and mentoring team. Professionals suggested that the Gender Center organize mentoring as a permanent form of support to local subjects of protection. The mentoring team, which also includes the authors of this article, based on the analysis of results and insight into the evaluation of participants, is of the opinion that it is necessary to continue applying this method in practice, but also that it is necessary to make the following changes to the current concept of mentoring: define the methodology of conducting mentoring in emergency situations, include people who are not members of the multisectoral team in the mentoring support activities, and consider the possibility of establishing continuous mentoring support to local multisectoral teams.

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