Handbook on Effective Police Responses to Violence against Women and a
Training Curriculum
were recently launched to improve capacity of law enforcement and
national criminal justice systems in Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique,
Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
6 January 2011 - Violence against women is a worldwide problem and
an issue that features prominently on the agenda of the United Nations.
It presents itself in many forms - physical, sexual, psychological and
economic - and in many countries around the world inequality and
ignorance are sad realities which women face daily. Lack of services
for survivors and often poor law enforcement responses make this issue
a critical human security problem which affects women regardless of
age, culture or location.
In Southern Africa, UNODC is working with officials and civil
society to counter this through a range of programmes on gender-based
violence. One such initiative is the implementation of a regional
project aimed at developing effective law enforcement responses to
violence against women in the region. As part of this work a new UNODC Handbook on Effective Police Responses to Violence against Women and a
Training Curriculum
were recently launched to improve capacity of law enforcement and
national criminal justice systems in Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique,
Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
The Handbook is designed for first-responders such as the police,
and assists in defining the issue, providing an overview of relevant
norms and standards, and giving guidance on how to intervene. In
particular, it focuses on how to investigate acts of violence against
women - a process that requires considerable sensitivity. Complementing
this, the Training Curriculum has been developed to equip local and
national police with the knowledge and skills required to respond in an
effective and appropriate manner to violence against women -
specifically violence within intimate relationships. This includes
measures to prevent violence against women, ways to respond to and
investigate acts of violence, and resources to meet the needs of
victims during and after an incident.
In addition to this regional-based, law-enforcement focused
approach, UNODC is also working with communities in South Africa to
provide local-level support to victims of gender-based violence.
Several UNODC-supported 'one-stop centres' have been established across
the country to provide legal, psychological and medical services to the
survivors of violence as well as rehabilitation and support services
for men in order to break the cycle of domestic violence.
In a bid to further the UN's response to this crime, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched the
UNiTE to End Violence against Women
campaign in 2008. Aimed at preventing and eliminating violence against
women and girls in all parts of the world, UNiTE calls on Governments,
civil society, women's organizations, young people, the private sector,
the media and the entire UN system to join forces in addressing the
global pandemic of violence against women and girls.
