In order to strengthen the institutional response for the care of women victims and survivors of Gender-Based Violence (GBV), as well as to guarantee access to justice in a timely and effective manner, the Judicial Branch of the Republic of Panama, together with the Public Prosecutor's Office and the U.S. Embassy’s International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Section (INL), developed the "Protocol on Access to Justice for Women Victims of Gender-Based Violence, with an Emphasis on Indigenous and Migrant Women."

In this regard, since the Protocol was presented on 22 January, 2024, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has held a series of train-the-trainer workshops in the provinces of Chiriqui and Darien in which more than 90 key actors and justice administrators have strengthened their capacities as a first line of care for victims and survivors of GBV in the context of human mobility.

During the conference, promoted by the IOM Development Fund (IDF) through the "Strengthening Local Government Capacities to Mitigate the Risks of Gender-Based Violence and Support GBV

Survivors in the Darien and Chiriqui Regions” project, the participants analyzed international cases of GBV cited in the Protocol, familiarized themselves with the terminology of international law with a gender and human rights perspective, and learned about the current migration context, as well as receiving complementary training resources such as IOM's Institutional Framework to Mitigate, Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence in Crises.

Desiré Herrera Cedeño, a municipal judge in the province of Darién and one of the participants in the workshops, highlights that this type of space makes more evident the need to address GBV jointly, with all the key actors involved. Likewise, Idiam Osorio, IOM's National Migration Management Officer in Panama, states that gender-based violence "is incompatible with any practice aligned with human rights, constitutes one of the most reprehensible forms of injustice in our society and, unfortunately, is present in all human mobility crises."

These actions reaffirm IOM's commitment in Panama to foster constructive dialogue and exchange of experiences, and to support the State in the protection of human rights and the implementation of projects and programmes that incorporate the gender perspective.

For more information, contact IOM Panama's communications team at iompanama@iom.int.