The capacities of prison staff in detecting, reporting, referring and preventing self-harm and suicide in Albanian prisons were improved through the training sessions with multidisciplinary teams composed of social, prison security and medical staff.
To initiate the support concerning this particular topic, on 10 and 11 November 2021 a training was held in Tirana for a multidisciplinary team of 34 prison staff coming from all over Albania.
The training offered not only theoretical knowledge, but also practical aspects which were collected in the form of feedback from simulation exercises. Discussions during role play exercises enhanced the cooperation and flow of information between security officers and medical staff.
Trained staff are projected to serve in the future as focal points in different prison facilities concerning suicide prevention. A dedicated ToT on suicide prevention signs and first help is planned to take place with security staff in the following months.
This activity was organised within the scope of the action “Enhancing the protection of human rights of prisoners in Albania”, as a part of joint initiative of the European Union and Council of Europe “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022”.