Support for Lebanese Security Sector
Capacity Building for Law Enforcement Personnel on Gender-Based Violence Prevention and Response
AiW has launched a new project that focuses on building the capacity of law enforcement personnel to identify, prevent and respond appropriately to gender-based violence (GBV), and to increase gender awareness and equality within the security sector itself.
The full program, funded by the Dutch Embassy, is expected to last for two years and will entail in-depth training for female and male Lebanese security personnel on:
- Integrating gender perspectives into the provision of security service;
- Increasing women’s representation and participation in the security sector, international and national legal frameworks, policies, and procedures in cases of GBV;
- Overcoming challenges to gender equality and GBV prevention and response in the Lebanese context.
AiW strongly believes that a critical component of prevention and response to GBV is to work with security service providers alongside medical, legal and psychosocial personnel to ensure that survivors have access to the best possible care and support, and to reduce the risk of GBV.
Fostering a culture of intolerance towards GBV within the security apparatus can increase a sense of institutional responsibility, reduce societal perceptions of impunity, strengthen accountability, and promote positive attitudes towards gender equality both within the security forces and the population.
New: Closing Ceremony
Throughout 2017, AiW has been advancing its innovative training program for officers in the Lebanese Internal Security Forces and General Security. Funded by the Dutch Embassy in Lebanon the program trained local law enforcement personnel on how to prevent and respond to cases of gender-based violence (GBV) and how to investigate GBV cases in a manner that is safe, ethical, and appropriate in order to protect survivors and to bring perpetrators to justice.
All the training material will be compiled into one training manual that will be distributed to newly recruited officers. It is anticipated that the ISF and GS directors will find the training material relevant and important and thus feel the need to integrate it into the ISF and GS training curriculum. This will lead to the formal integration of all inherent subjects, addressed during the training implemented, into the academic program of the ISF and GS members and officials. In addition, the unique Arabic designed curriculum can be shared with other Lebanese security agencies and the army. Eventually the material can also be dispersed to security institutions in other Arab countries with similar needs.
And finally, 35 officers graduated at the end of this month in a closing ceremony that was presided by the General Director of the Internal Security Forces along with senior administration of LAU and the Dutch Embassy. We’re looking forward to further engagement with the security forces as they discuss next steps and determine where we go from here!
The closing ceremony was followed by a two-day roundtable, where representatives from civil society organizations shared their training experiences with the security personnel. Several issues were also discussed during the roundtable, namely, lessons learned from the on-going trainings, sustainability of training projects, recommendations for future training projects, coordination between stakeholders regarding training projects.