Thirty-two Ghana Police Service (GPS) crime officers have completed a two-day training course on policing domestic violence and sexual and gender based violence (SGBV).
The training was designed in collaboration with the GPS Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) to empower senior police investigators to protect, support, and provide justice to victims of SGBV.
Over the course of the training, officers learned about conducting trauma-sensitive responses to sexual and gender-based violence and how to take measures to hold perpetrators accountable under the law.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Ambassador Jackson challenged the investigators to prioritize these crimes.
“You are the people victims look to when they need a safe place to escape from violence,” said Ambassador Jackson. “You are the people who are entrusted with holding accountable those who commit sexual and gender-based violence. With your actions, you can make clear to your communities that this behavior will not be tolerated. When you prioritize combatting domestic and gender-based violence, you set the expectation for the officers under your supervision: whether or not they serve in the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit, they have a responsibility to respond to domestic and sexual violence — and to support the victims.”
The training took place at the West Africa Regional Training Center in Accra and was conducted by Wynn Consulting, a U.S. organization, in collaboration with Angela Dwamena-Aboagye, executive director of the Ark Foundation, and Adolf Akuku Bekoe, a clinical psychologist and lecturer at Methodist University.
Wynn Consulting has conducted training at police academies around the globe and advised leaders to help guide and shape law and policy on this important issue.
