The Domestic Violence Community Partnership develops the capacity of Russian, Ukrainian and Georgian communities to work in coalitions to reduce domestic violence.

The program dispatches interdisciplinary teams of American specialists to selected cities to provide trainings on American models of domestic violence response and prevention. Participants in the training seminars represent a cross-section of agencies a victim of domestic violence might turn to: law enforcement, hospitals, victim advocacy groups, the legal system and non-governmental organizations. The Domestic Violence Community Partnership demonstrates the efficacy of multi-institutional coalitions in reducing domestic violence. The primary work of this program is divided into three training phases:

Phase I Training
Project Harmony recruits and selects a team of US trainers who work in the field of domestic violence. They are chosen from the legal, police, psychology, medical and victim advocacy professions. The training team travels to NIS program sites for a sixteen-day program during which they provide training seminars to their NIS colleagues. The team emphasizes and models the coalition approach to reducing domestic violence. At the conclusion of the training, Project Harmony works with interested NIS partners to form a local coalition that works collaboratively on domestic violence in that region.

Phase II Training
The same team of US trainers conducts the second round of training seminars several months following the initial training phase. Phase II trainings are highly specified and address the priority needs that the newly formed local coalition has identified. In each program community, Project Harmony works with the local coalition to establish a Domestic Violence Resource Center, which acts as a clearinghouse for information on resources that are available to victims of domestic violence. (Note: Project Harmony is not a domestic violence service provider, nor are direct services for victims or batters provided at the Project Harmony Domestic Violence Resources Centers.)

Phase III Training
The final training phase is implemented for selected cities, approximately 12 months after beginning the Domestic Violence Community Partnership. Project Harmony selects individual members of the local NIS coalitions to participate in an intensive practicum on domestic violence with colleagues and trainers in the United States. In fulfillment of several curriculum elements in the US-based training, coalition members write strategic action plans that identify key objectives for the coalitions work and identify resources that the coalition can draw from to achieve those objectives.

Technical Capacity Building
In addition to Phases I, II and III training, Project Harmony recruits small teams of qualified trainers to provide in-depth domestic violence trainings in participating Russian, Ukrainian and Georgian cities. The purpose of these trainings to increase capacity of police, health care facilities and courts to understand the dynamics of domestic violence cases and to improve services. Two-person teams travel to selected cities and spend 7-10 days working solely with colleagues of a similar profession. Technical capacity training continues the momentum generated through the initial phases of the program.