Nicaragua, Ecuador, Paraguay, Costa Rica and Panama have concluded the processes of adapting the Regional Investigation Protocol for Gender Violence Crimes in the intra-family context which were promoted by EUROsociAL, the European Commission cooperation programme, through the AIAMP and the COMJIB. They were adopted by 20 Ibero-American government ministries and prosecutor's offices in November 2013.

The instrument(s) the government ministries-prosecutor's offices and interior ministries-police forces have developed vary depending on the regulatory and organisational framework of each country, although all of them involve documents that establish how the investigation is to be directed and conducted in all of its phases in a step-by-step and clear way. Aspects such as assessing the risk to the victim took on special importance in the development of the adaptations or national protocols.

This technical assistance work was complemented by training activities in all countries, except Brazil, which were aimed not only at prosecutors and police officers but also at forensic doctors, members of the judiciary, and social workers in some countries such as Costa Rica.  Leadership of this training components was handled by Miguel Lorente, Professor of Forensic Medicine and ex-delegate for gender violence in Spain, who developed a common thematic foundation consisting of seven teaching units that were later completed in each country with the specific aspects of each of the processes. The courses started on 3rd November in Nicaragua and ended in Panama on 11th December, and a total of 300 prosecutors and police officers were trained. The course content is currently being incorporated into the curricula and programming of training centres and schools for prosecutors and police officers.  Work on the training materials will continue for this purpose until the end of 2015.

EUROsociAL is considering strengthening and supporting the implementation processes for these protocols in all countries in 2015, and getting other professional bodies, such as forensic doctors, involved in the Regional Investigation Protocol through the forums and networks of legal medicine institutions in the region.