26th October 2017 - Cairo, Egypt
Violence against women occurs globally, irrespective of a country's social or economic status. However, many acts of violence against women go underreported, as various sectors of criminal justice systems worldwide provide women with services that are often poor in quantity and quality with little understanding or hostile attitudes. Eliminating violence against women is an enormous task, which requires the continuous commitment, participation of and coordination among all stakeholders in the justice system. In Egypt, UNODC partners with Egyptian Ministries of Interior and Justice, the Prosecutor General Office, and the National Council for Women to enhance the criminal justice response to cases of violence against women.
For five days, 17 law enforcement officers from different governorates attended a UNODC training workshop on "Addressing Crimes of Violence against Women" in the Police Academy, at the Ministry of Interior. It is the second of five training workshops that aim to enhance the capacities of the different law enforcement and criminal justice practitioners, such as police, prosecutors, judges and forensic doctors that UNODC would provide to a total of 82 participants before the end of this year.
The next training workshop starts on Sunday 29 October 2017 and will last for five days.
The workshop was opened by the Head of the Training and Development Institute, General Ismail Al-Sayed, who welcomed the participants.
UNODC Regional Representative, Cristina Albertin, in her turn shed light on the relevance of the training to the fulfilment of Goal 5 of the Sustainable Development Goals, on achieving gender equality and empowering all women. Ms. Albertin acknowledged the commitment and the important steps taken by Egypt and the Ministry of Interior so far towards the realisation of this Goal, then urged the participants to respond to this crime, stating: "YOU face the victims, also the offenders, witnesses and you will be the ones who see and identify various forms of evidence. YOUR response can and will have a dramatic impact on ensuing developments".
In her opening statement, the Deputy Head of the UK Mission to Egypt, Helen Winterton, pointed to the severity of the problem stating that "Globally, 1 in 3 women is beaten or sexually abused in her lifetime".
The workshop builds on the "Handbook on effective police response to violence against women", developed in coordination between the Ministry of Interior and UNODC experts, in the framework of UNODC project " Improving the Criminal Justice Response to Violence against Women in Egypt" Funded by the UK.
For more information, please contact Ms. Mirna Bouhabib: mirna.bouhabib[AT]un.org
