A/HRC/20/20 protocol on the prevention, protection and promotion of women victims of sexual violence in armed conflict in Colombia, which was made obligatory in all Government institutions and will be used for training legal personnel, including prosecutors. All law students should be required to take courses on gender equality and women’s rights, and continuing judicial education on these issues should be mandatory for judges at all levels. 88. A holistic approach aimed at supporting capacity-building for judges, prosecutors, police and other players within the justice system should be adopted. Such an approach would help to ensure broad dissemination of good practices and effective responses to gender-based discrimination, including violence against women. For example, in Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), various public officials, including in the justice system, have received training on substantive and procedural aspects of violence against women and its consequences. 89. It was observed that judges are more open to being trained by their peers, seen as an effective strategy for developing a constructive dialogue. Training strategies should ensure the training is focused on skill-building and sensitization, and trainers should have both theoretical and practical experience as judges. Peer-to-peer-based approaches, case studies, problem-solving exercises and other adult learning techniques have proven successful, including opportunities for judges to deepen their understanding of international law as applied to domestic contexts and to provide a forum for judges to discuss legal means to address vulnerabilities. Focus should be centred on the practical aspects of the implementation of the law and less on theoretical discussions of gender equality and human rights. In Albania, for example, a training programme was based on the concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on its report.12 In Serbia, a pool of experts was created consisting of judges and gender advocates from academia and Government institutions who are responsible for training judges on the basis of modules. The importance of documenting and disseminating success stories demonstrating how women have used the law and engaged the justice system was also highlighted. Delivering messages addressing potential biases and prejudices that members of the judiciary may have, using experts in professional fields, such as doctors, medical professionals and lawyers to counter any bias with data and scientific “fact”, has also been successful. The Special Rapporteur recommends that case studies be used to deliver key messages during training, and that legal manuals and handbooks be elaborated with and endorsed by judges. 90. It is important that training be provided for members of the judiciary at all levels, including provincial and district levels. In India, for instance, training programmes on gender-biased sex selection and implementation of national legislation were carried out at the district level. In the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, regional capacitybuilding on implementing the domestic violence legislation involved civil and criminal judges and prosecutors from all appellate divisions. 91. Follow-up meetings or consultations to assess implementation and progress should be convened. Similarly, developing feedback loops between members of the judiciary and other law enforcement personnel for information and knowledge sharing is important; in Zambia, for example, mechanisms of this type focusing on the kind of evidence required for conviction in cases of gender-based violence and the measures required for the protection of child witnesses in cases of sexual assault were developed. It was noticed that arrangements for feedback and the exchange of information often determine the outcome of cases of gender-based violence. In the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, a national 12 CEDAW/C/ALB/CO/3. See also the Mid-term Evaluation of the United Nations Joint Programme on Gender Equality in Albania (see footnote 9). 23