Uganda Police Force Collaborates with IJM and UN Women to Improve Response to Violence Against Women and Children
Violence Against Women
As part of a grant from UN Women, International Justice Mission (IJM) gathered Uganda Police Force (UPF) Officers to review IJM’s recommendations for a new module covering violence against women and children (VAWC) case management and response to be added to the police training curricula.
Simon Manning, Director of Programs for IJM Uganda, observed that, “perpetrators of violence rarely are brought to justice. That…is what we seek to change.”
While IJM will support the development of the new training materials, it will be ultimately owned by UPF, and this proposed module will serve as an accompaniment to existing police training curricula as part of their training school. Once finalized, it will be institutionalised across all police practices.
Ed Womanya, Senior Chief Police Commissioner for UPF, noted, “This [VAWC] program is our greatest focus. We thank IJM for this support in the area of capacity-building as we move in the same direction. It is critical that the perpetrators are penalised.”
Participants agreed that the new module adds key components currently absent from the curricula: victim-centric and trauma-informed care; coordination and multi-disciplinary response in VAWC cases; the necessity of forensic evidence; and attitudes and perceptions of survivors of VAWC.
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IJM Uganda has been working tirelessly since 2004 to end land theft, a brutal form of violence which disproportionately affects vulnerable women and children. In 2018, the team expanded their work to include domestic violence against women and children. Through partnerships like this one, IJM Uganda is able to better ensure women and children are protected from violence and more key players are trained on how to respect and uphold women's rights.