Ottawa Police Services train Caribbean officers

Apr 14, 2011 News

…focus on domestic violence and sexual offences

The law enforcement response to gender-based violence reports will be strengthened for several countries as selected officers embark on a two-week internship programme with the Ottawa (Canada) Police Services Department.
The training programme forms part of the cooperation developed between the Barbados-based UN WOMEN Caribbean office, the Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police and the Ottawa Police Services Department under the UN WOMEN Strengthening State Accountability and Community Action to End Gender Based Violence’ Project which seeks to support the justice and security sectors and the non-governmental sector in their efforts to reduce violence against women.
The trainees are from Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have been in Ottawa since Monday. Representing Guyana are Superintendent Yvette Sancho and Inspector Ingrid Abrams.
The officers will undergo training in the Management of Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence which include a focus on sexual and intimate partner assault, legal issues around domestic violence; the judicial response, victim support and domestic violence investigation procedures.
Gender-based violence continues to be a serious threat to the life and safety of women and girls in the region and undermines the stability and harmony of our societies as statistics show that  all Caribbean countries have higher than the global averages for rape and that on average one in three women experiences domestic violence as well as the telling impact on our young men.
The training represents the second phase of the project which seeks to address the gaps and strengthen police and prosecutorial management of sexual offences and domestic violence cases.
In the project’s first phase, baseline country reports highlighting the policing and prosecutorial response to gender based violence were completed for each territory and presented to regional Police Commissioners, Directors of Public Prosecutions and other key stakeholders.
Other elements of the project include the development of National Action Plans and Protocols as has been approved in Belize in May 2010.