Monrovia – With support from UNDP, UN Women, and IOM, the government of Liberia is taking a twist in the promotion of gender equality in the security sector.
Report by J. H. Webster Clayeh, [email protected]
To achieve this, a joint program under the theme, ‘Inclusive Security-Nothing for Us Without Us,’ aimed at enhancing the capacity of the national justice and security institutions to prevent and respond to all forms of violence against women has been established.
The project is meant to enhance women’s involvement in promoting decentralized peacebuilding efforts to build and sustain trust between security institution.
With a draft review of the security sector reform (SSR) policy and legal framework submitted by Sue Tatten, a consultant of UNDP Legal Education Advisor of the Gender and Security Sector Reform, security institutions can now give their inputs in developing the policy of the gender and security sector reform in the country.
At the validation workshop on gender and SSR policy reform, the Deputy Justice Minister for Administration, Juah Nancy Cassell, said there is a need to strengthen women’s participation in the management of national security from top to bottom.
According to Madam Cassell, the Liberian government will fight against sexual exploitation and abuse including sex for promotion on jobs.
Having supervisory role of the Gender and Security Sector National Taskforce, Cassell stated she takes keen note of the 15 recommendations of the SSR policy and legal framework review.
“We insist that this new dispensation is not about business as usual, we must be assertive in driving the ‘pro-poor agenda’ of the government,” the Deputy Justice Minister said Tuesday, August 28, 2018 at the Boulevard Palace in Sinkor.
Through coordination and engagement of the national taskforce, the Liberia National Police, the Liberia Immigration Service, the Bureau of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency and the Ministry of Defense (including the Armed Forces of Liberia) are the key areas among the many security institutions the project will focus on.
Adding up, Sue Tatten, a consultant of UNDP Legal Education Advisor of the Gender and Security Sector Reform told the gathering, most whom were women that they can only complete with men if they have the requisite skills.
“How did you get to where you are now?” Tatten asked the women at the event.
She added: “There is a need for women in the security sector to be in leadership positions in Liberia.”
The UNDP Legal Education Advisor of the Gender and Security Sector Reform called for a unified gender policy to cut across all security sectors.
Also, during the validation workshop, Maarten Barends, Chief Technical Advisory and Program Manager of the Rule of Law of UNDP told FrontPageAfrica that despite the end of the civil war more than 15 years ago, women and girls still face security issues in the country.
Female genital mutilation, economic dependent and persistent non support according to Barends are some of the many abuses that are frequently taking place against women and girls in the country.
The Chief Technical Advisory and program Manager of the Rule of Law of UNDP further said they at the UNDP are taking notes from other best practicing countries about what can be learned to promote and improve the gender responsiveness of the security sector in the country.
Barends added: “Actually, in Liberia the numbers are not bad; but we need to do more to promote women especially at the senior level in decision making across the security sector.”