ANNUAL REPORT 2014–2015 5. THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN AND GIRLS: ONLINE 27 JANUARY – 1 MARCH; WORKSHOP, NEPAL 13-17 APRIL 2015 6. EU REGIONAL BLENDED-LEARNING COURSE ON INVESTIGATING AND DOCUMENTING TORTURE: ONLINE 16 MARCH-10 APRIL, WORKSHOP IN MANILA, 20-24 APRIL Average ratings by the 26 participants (14 female, 12 male) Relevance 4.7/5 Overall quality of online course Overall quality of the workshop 4.8/5 4.8/5 This sub-regional pilot blended-learning course was facilitated in light of the Amman Declaration and APF Regional Action Plan on the Human Rights of Women and Girls and was based on the APF manual of the same topic. Participants came from the South Asian sub-region members (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka with the aim of putting the APF manual into practice, providing skills and knowledge to support NHRIs in promoting and protecting the rights of women and girls and to create a platform for the exchange of experiences and best practice. The course scored very highly across all sections, with the online course score of 4.8 being the highest of any APF course run during the 2014-15 program year. The positive reaction to the online course translated well into a productive workshop in Nepal where there were high levels of interaction, exchange of ideas and best practices and excellent interaction between trainer and participants. Indeed, it could be observed that the success of the workshop can be largely attributed to the lead trainer in addition to other factors such as a high calibre and diversity of participants, strong APF manual and good guest speakers. Lessons to be taken from this course included the need for more than one trainer for workshops over 3 days in length, the inclusion of more quizzes in the online course and consideration of a halfday trip to break up long workshops. Average ratings by the 23 participants (10 female, 13 male) Relevance Overall quality of online course Overall quality of the workshop 4.6/5 4.6/5 4.7/5 Investigations is a core function of an NHRI and a ‘high’ ranked APF training need. NHRIs that have the knowledge and skills to undertake effective investigations are in a key position to investigate and document allegations of torture, as they are often the first and sometimes only direct point of contact for torture victims. This regional blended-learning course is the first known training course offered to APF members to focus specifically on the investigation and documentation of torture. 23 participants from 18 APF members from across the Asia-Pacific region participated in this training course. The course was unique in having a team of 4 highly qualified expert trainers, namely a legal investigative expert from the APT, an Istanbul Protocol specialist form the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT), a consultant forensic doctor with more than 20 years of experience documenting torture for the International Committee of the Red Cross, and a consultant psychologist with experience of working with torture victims in the Philippines and the Maldives. The broad range of expertise of the trainers enable the APF to offer a very effective training course, covering legal and well as medical and psycho-social investigation and documentation of torture. The course was evaluated very positively by the participants – the scores for the online (i.e. 4.6) and the workshop (4.7) – are the highest of any torture focused blended-learning offered by the APF and APT to date since the commencement of their partnership in 2006. Rather than the development of institutional action plans (as past experience raises questions on how effective these plans are within the context of regional or subregional trainings), a new approach was trialled The National Human Rights Commission of Nepal celebrated International Women’s Day by creating a colourful banner featuring the handprints of staff and community members who say no to violence against women. 39