The GIZ recently organised a stakeholders meeting with civil society organisations working on sexual and gender-based violence. The meeting took place on 28th February at the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Center in Bijilo.
According to the organisers, the “Police Programme Africa – Joint EU-German Support to the Gambia Police (Phase 2)”, commissioned by the German Federal Foreign Office and the European Union, aims to strengthen the institutional and human resource capacities of the Gambia Police as an institution capable of acting in accordance with the rule of law and close to its citizens.
Dr. Marion Popp, Head of the GIZ Programme said, one focus of the programme is on gender equality and crime prevention.
“The specific aim is to strengthen the population’s trust in the performance of the police, including prevention work and victim protection, particularly with regard to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).“
She said: “With the support of the Network against Gender-based Violence (NGBV), we contacted more than 40 civil society organisations in December 2023 with a questionnaire on SGBV-related activities. We are delighted with the high level of participation. We now have valuable information on the existing knowledge and programme activities of CSOs from different backgrounds working on SGBV in The Gambia. The results will be summarised in an SGBV stakeholder mapping exercise.“
On his part, Mr. Klaus Botzet, German Ambassador to The Gambia said it is impressive to see how civil society engagement in The Gambia has helped to address the injustices committed and how recommendations have found their way into the transitional justice process.
Mr. Botzet added that it is an example of the crucial role of civil society and can achieve a great deal, complement or challenge state policy and initiate social change.
“Germany is committed to a feminist foreign policy. This means that we are also committed to gender equality and the reduction of inequalities in our projects. The aim of the “Joint German-EU Support Programme for the Gambian Police”, commissioned by the Federal Foreign Office and co-financed by the European Union, is to strengthen the capacity of the police services to serve and protect their citizens through democratic policing principles,“ he assured.
He said in its draft strategic plan 2024-2028, the Gambian police cites “strengthening public confidence through improved service delivery” as a strategic goal.
“Increased prevention and better victim protection, especially in the area of SGBV, will strengthen the confidence of the Gambian population in the police. The way police officers deal with and investigate SGBV is crucial for victims to find the courage to report incidents so that perpetrators do not get away with violating their rights.
To achieve this goal, the experience and expertise of Gambian civil society actors working in this field is crucial. Civil society has extensive experience in communicating on behaviour change. They understand well how to change the attitudes of different groups towards SGBV. Therefore, the GPF can build on this experience to achieve its goal of reducing cases of gender-based violence by 20 per cent,“ Ambassador Botzet noted.
He stated that the meeting is intended to provide an overview of who is active in which area of the SGBV.
