Fighting GBV is a responsibility for all-Police

The Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGP) in charge of Administration and Personnel, Juvénal Marizamunda yesterday said that one of the best ways to eliminate Gender Based Violence and Child Abuse is through collective partnership with all concerned stakeholders.

DIGP Marizamunda made the remarks as he closed the second multidisciplinary investigative and intervention model course police officers and medical practitioners focused on GBV held at Police Training School in Gishari.

“Gender Based Violence is a problem faced by many countries globally; Statistics by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) indicates that violence cause more death and disability among women aged between 15 and 44, than cancer, malaria, traffic accidents and war combined. Even more disturbing, UNICEF shows that one in five women is a victim of rape or attempted rape in her lifetime,” said DIGP Marizamunda.

The five day training was attended by ninety people including 15 police officers and medical practitioners.

“To address this concern there is need for partnership of all stakeholders including both public and private entities. It is in this context that Rwanda National Police and the Ministry of Health came up with these series of trainings to equip both medical and police personnel with skills to address this scourge with a holistic approach,” said the Deputy Police Chief.

Speaking at the closure of the course, the Director of Community Programs Unit at Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC) Catherine Mugeni Musara, hailed Rwanda Rwanda National Police for its continued partnership with the Ministry of Health in fighting Gender Based Violence and providing adequate care to victims of GBV.

“Scaling up of Isange One Stop Center has been of great impact to the people, thanks to RNP that has made it happen,” she said.

Participants recommended that similar training be extended to medical practitioner at the grassroot level.

The concluded trainings are the maiden courses conducted under the Isange One Stop Centre scale-up programme that intends to improve their medico-legal reporting, medical and psycho-socio management of victims of gender based violence and getting a wider understanding of the kinds of GBV and their consequences to the victims, their families and the nation in general