Working With The Police & Military in Madagascar, Namibia, Botswana & Sierra Leone

One of the most serious challenges faced by those who are involved in the fight to prevent and eradicate gender-based violence (GBV) has been the attitude of law enforcement officers who are, unavoidably, involved in the processing of cases of gender-based violence. Given the fact that GBV remains a criminal offence, even in the most patriarchal societies, the role that law enforcement and security personnel can play (in enforcing the law by helping victims and helping to apprehend and rehabilitate perpetrators) is one that MenEngage has chosen to focus on. More importantly, the work done around gender-based violence with the police and military forces has revealed a most disturbing fact – that the concept of gender is not one that is familiar to most people in the societies that make up these countries. With this in mind, therefore, all the work of sensitisation and education has to begin at the most basic levels. In considering the police forces as an important institution to be educated and sensitised, in order to make them more compassionate and more effective when dealing with cases of GBV. MenEngage has been roused to action by the stories of the victims of GBV, and some of the horror stories that unfold when no intervention is being made to educate the police about issues related to gender equality, gender rights and the safety of women and children.