UN trains Somali police on gender-based violence

A UN-sponsored five-day training of Somali police officers has kicked off in the Somali capital Mogadishu on prevention of sexual and gender-Based violence.

A statement from the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) said Tuesday that 25 police officers drawn from different parts of the country are being trained on ways of handling sexual and gender-based violence.

Speaking while opening the meeting, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) head of governance and rule of law in Somalia, Franco Sanchez, said the UN was committed to working with the Somali police in investigating sexual and gender-Based violence cases.

The training will focus on the collection of evidence in cases of sexual and gender-based violence, and interviewing techniques required to obtain critical information from victims.

"The officers will learn how to collect evidence, how to interview the victims and how to respond to them. They will also learn methodologies on questioning among others," Sanchez said.

A police officer from Somalia's Jubbaland state, Mohamed Abadir Ahmed, said he would share the knowledge gained from the training with his colleagues to reduce the incidence of such cases.

"This gender-based violence training will enable us to stop the violence and also protect the most vulnerable members of the society from such abuse," Ahmed said. Endit