Africa-Press – South-Sudan. The acting Secretary-General of the South Sudan Law Society (SSLS), Justice Ajonye Perpetua, has called on the government to incorporate a Gender-Based Violence (GBV) component into the police training curriculum.
She made the appeal during training to enhance community knowledge on gender-sensitive police response and the protection of GBV survivors organised by the South Sudan Law Society (SSLS).
“We need holistic training on gender-based violence among police trainees so that when they are passed out, each police officer has an idea of what constitutes gender-based violence,” Ajonye said.
Gender-based violence, which is founded on unequal power relations, structural inequities, and discrimination, has long been a prevalent and universal human rights concern.
Between February and July 2021, over 2,400 GBV cases were reported in South Sudan, according to Ajonye, who lamented the rise in GBV cases among boys and men.
“It is now upon us to protect the women, men, boys, girls, and children in South Sudan from the gender-based violence practises in our society,” she stressed.
Poverty, abuses of power, corruption, culture, susceptibility, and gender norms were identified as major factors in the current state of GBV in South Sudan. Gasper Amule, another member of the SSLS, stressed the significance of female police officers to handle GBV cases.
“The role of female officers is particularly important in interviewing victims, witnesses, and suspects, especially women and children. The ability for a victim or survivor to speak to a person of their own gender will ensure that the best evidence is obtained and victims are supported, ” he said.
Gender-sensitive police changes, according to Amule, will allow better prevention and response to the varied security demands of women and men, as well as boys and girls.
“Gender-sensitive police reforms should also contribute towards building police institutions that are non-discriminatory, reflective of the diversity of citizens, and accountable to the population at large.” As such, police services will better fulfil the police’s essential mandate of upholding the rule of law,” he remarked.
A specialised court for sexual, gender-based, and conflict-related sexual assault was established in December 2020, and since then it has registered several cases.
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