Launch of Gender Responsive Policing Unit of National Police Bureau

As part of its concerted efforts to increase gender responsiveness in the law enforcement sector in Pakistan, the National Police Bureau (NPB) with the technical assistance of UN Women conducted its first-ever Gender Responsiveness in Islamabad on March 1, 2024. Accountable Policing Framework and Gender Responsive Policing Unit have been launched.

According to a statement released by UN Women, the project was funded by the European Union under its Delivery Justice Project.

This newly established unit aims to facilitate gender responsive policing across Pakistan by providing technical support to institutionalize gender accountability in provincial police departments. The launch of this unit is considered a major step towards providing quick access to justice to women and marginalized sections of the society.

Director General National Police Bureau Dr. Ehsan Sadiq while speaking on the occasion highlighted the importance of this initiative to promote gender responsive policing in Pakistan.

He said that this initiative underscores their commitment to create a more inclusive and effective environment for all members of society and will help reshape policing in Pakistan. He appreciated the joint efforts of UN Women, the EU delegation and the law enforcement sector to promote gender equality within the police.

A Gender Crime Cell was established in the National Police Bureau in 2006 to address the lack of data on gender-based crimes in Pakistan, which limits accountability, policy change and monitoring of individual cases or It makes it difficult to advocate for institutional change.

The cell was expected to act as a central repository of relevant data on cases of violence against women to help policy makers formulate comprehensive and effective policies to prevent and punish violence against women. could

Reiterating the EU’s commitment to support the efforts of the National Police Bureau and UN Women to promote gender-responsive policing in Pakistan, Geron Williams, Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation to Pakistan, said: The European Union commends the efforts of the National Police Bureau in promoting gender responsive policing in Pakistan.

“We look forward to seeing the impact of the GRPU in promoting gender equality in Pakistan’s law enforcement agencies.” The European Union remains committed to supporting initiatives that promote human rights, gender equality and the rule of law in Pakistan and around the world.

Thanking the National Police Bureau for the fruitful partnership, UN Women Country Representative Lansana Wina said: ‘Gender-sensitive services are essential to combat gender-based violence.’

He appreciated the efforts of all the police forces and emphasized the need to take more positive steps to increase the number of women in the law enforcement agencies, especially in leadership positions, as the current figures show that women are represented at all levels in the police force. present a dismal picture.

He further said that public confidence in public services can be increased only by changing traditional policing.

He added that the GRPU would act as a center for training law enforcement officials to uphold the principles of gender equality. It will monitor and collect data to promote gender-sensitive and responsive community policing across Pakistan.

Earlier in September 2023, the National Police Bureau organized a two-day consultative workshop with the technical assistance of UN Women aimed at activating women police networks across the country and the rule of law funded by the European Union. The program was to develop a gender responsive policing framework.

The program seeks policy reforms and capacity building of law enforcement and justice sector officials to facilitate gender-responsive justice delivery and women’s access to justice.

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