Anti-Gender Based Violence Police Unit for Eastern Equatoria The Eastern Equatoria State Government has for the first time commissioned its special protection unit to spearhead initiatives to control gender-based violence in the state.08 November 2011 Eastern Equatoria State Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management Banaiah Kitara joins special unit police after their training in Torit. [© Gurtong]By Peter Lokale Nakimangole
TORIT, 08 November 2011 (Gurtong) –The 25 officers from the Special Protection Unit of the Eastern Equatoria State Police Service have been undergoing training on gender-based violence in the Eastern Equatoria State capital Torit. The 5-day training was launched last Monday by an American non-governmental organisation, Cooperative Housing Foundation (CHF) International. The training sought to equip the officers with basic skills on how to investigate, treat and handle gender-based violence. CHF International collaborated with the State Ministry of Local Government and Law Enforcement to facilitate the training, while the UNDP’s Rule of Law unit is coordinating the exercise. The CHF International program manager Valerie Masumbuko said the unit will also assist in continued awareness creation on the negative impact of a range of violence cases not limited to domestic but also to gender discrimination. Masumbuko urged the police not to take skills and knowledge acquired for granted, but instead advised them to make use of it by transferring to others. The training session was officially closed by the State Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management Banaiah Benjamin Kitara, who decried the high levels of gender- based violence in the new nation. “This has contributed to hindrance of women’s full participation in various spheres of our society, hence limiting the country’s development”, he said. He revealed that a proposal to build the capacity of state government officials on gender issues has been developed and is awaiting discussions. Posted in: Home, Governance -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/SouthSudanKob?hl=en.
