Founder of Strategic Advocacy Bohdan Khmelnytskyi Takes Part in Discussion on the Criminal Justice System’s Readiness to Work with Veterans

Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, founder and managing partner of Strategic Advocacy attorneys at law and member of the Consultative and Expert Council under the State Criminal Executive Service of Ukraine, took part in a working meeting with Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine Yevhen Pikalov.

The meeting focused on the results of a large-scale study of the criminal justice system’s readiness to work with veterans. The study took several months and was carried out jointly with the international project CILK. Almost 13,000 representatives of the police, the prosecution service, the courts, the penitentiary service and probation bodies took part in it. The research centred on trauma-sensitive approaches, inter-agency cooperation, the ethics of working with veterans, and the training and psychological and methodological support of the professionals who work within the criminal justice system.

“We must build a system that is ready not only to comply with the requirements of the law, but also to understand the needs of people who have returned from the war. Studies like this help us see the real picture, identify problem areas and find solutions that work in practice. This is exactly how modern and effective state policy on veterans takes shape,” said Bohdan Khmelnytskyi.

Following the meeting, the participants agreed to present the results of the study in the near future and to continue studying the experience of veterans themselves. In particular, they plan to continue the systematic surveys of veterans that have been conducted since last year. This will make it possible to assess the challenges comprehensively, take into account the views of both the criminal justice system’s staff and the veterans themselves, and develop recommendations for improving how the system works.