07 June 2024 - Chitral: The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Pakistan and  Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police conducted a five-day training of trainers (TOT) course for police officers on gender-responsive policing skills and management of gender-responsive policing desks. This marks the end of a series of 8 TOTs on gender-responsive policing for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police in 2024.  This initiative is implemented under the European Union (EU) funded “Deliver Justice Project”.

The TOT was held in Chitral and attended by 20 police women and men from the region. The five-day training aimed to bolster the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police’s capacity to respond to the security needs of different genders, especially the most marginalized communities in the province, including merged districts. The training also focused on sensitizing Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police, particularly officers serving at gender-responsive desks, to assist survivors of gender-based crime including available ways for survivors to access justice.. 

The UNDP Pakistan Rule of Law Programme started special training sessions in 2022, and has trained 187 expert trainers from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police since then. This year, 44 more police officers, including many women, joined from areas like Peshawar, Mardan, Swat, Kohat, and Chitral. These officers focus on gender-sensitive policing in their duty stations. They learned about gender equality, laws protecting women, handling gender-based violence cases, and managing gender-based crimes help desks for women, children, and vulnerable people. At the end of the training, participants pledged to improve security services in their communities, especially for women and vulnerable groups.

Appreciating the efforts being made under the ‘Deliver Justice Project’ to make Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police more inclusive and accessible to the people, Mr. Abdul Ghafoor Afridi, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Trainings, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police said, “I am very thankful to the European Union and UNDP Pakistan for their support in providing gender-responsive policing in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. These trainings will play a crucial role in enabling Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police to address the long-neglected security needs of vulnerable communities, allowing them to serve and protect the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including merged districts better.” 

Ms. Chamila Hemmathagama, Programme Manager, Rule of Law Programme, UNDP Pakistan, thanked the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police for their partnership and the EU for their support to strengthen people-centered security services in the province. “To create safer and more just communities, it is important to build the capacity of the rule of law institutions to meet the needs of all people, especially women and the most marginalized groups. This year’s training was led by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police officers who have attended previous trainings since 2022.  It is a very important milestone and  only reflects the long-term impact of these training of trainers on people-centered and gender-responsive policing  across  Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including merged districts – a goal that the UNDP Pakistan Rule of Law Programme continues to prioritize.”