Female UN police officers in Bentiu initiate weekly support meetings with national counterparts

south sudan unmiss unpol female empowerment network bentiu national counterparts january 2019

Female police officers serving with UNMISS are empowering their South Sudanese counterparts in Bentiu.

21 Jan 2019

Female UN police officers in Bentiu initiate weekly support meetings with national counterparts

Olivier Ndikumana

Bentiu-based female police officers serving with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan are encouraging the police force in the war-torn country to recruit more women to better respond to cases of sexual and gender-based violence.

To further their cause, the women UN police officers’ empowerment network has initiated weekly technical meetings with their South Sudanese counterparts, with a first session drawing the participation of 30 national policewomen.

“When we report domestic violence and rapes cases to the national police units, there is no women to handle those cases,” said Madu Adimchi, deputy coordinator of the UN police in Bentiu. “We decided to bring women police into the course and work with them so that victims, previously traumatized by men, will openly collaborate with our investigations,” she added.  

The police officers serving with the peacekeeping mission shared knowledge and skills with their South Sudanese counterparts to improve their handling of cases of gender and sexual based violence and other gender-sensitive criminal activities.

Mutual finger signs of peace and friendly hugs were common as these law-enforcing women discussed their commitment to changing an environment in which male officers are often the ones dealing with female victims of sexual or other abuse.

South Sudanese Major Angelina Cholt Tot, one of the participants, praised the initiative.

“Meeting and discussing with you is very good for us. As police women, we understand the best way to talk to female victims, and we are proud to contribute to peace and to restore the rule of law in our country, she said.