Eastern Africa continues to face significant threats posed by transnational organized crime, sexual and gender-based violence, violent extremism, and terrorism which all disproportionately affect women and girls. Simultaneously, senior and decision-making roles in criminal justice and law enforcement institutions remain overwhelmingly inaccessible to women, negatively impacting women’s participation in peace and security at large.
To address these challenges, UNODC is leading the project ‘Empowering Every Badge’, which aims to enhance gender parity and the role of women in law enforcement in order to enhance gender sensitive responses to these threats, to promote gender equality, foster community trust in law enforcement, and to ultimately, strengthen operational effectiveness. This project is jointly implemented by UNODC in partnership with UN Women and the Eastern Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization (EAPCCO) and is funded by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Across Eastern Africa, female representation in law enforcement remains minimal. With the growing threat of transnational organized crimes, terrorism and illicit trafficking in the region, there is the need to explore having more women in this traditionally male dominated space, as women bring a different perspective to law enforcement.
UNODC Regional Office for Eastern Africa through the Empowering Every Badge project is proud to present a series of video portraits that showcase women serving different capacities in law enforcement across Eastern Africa. These Women are proof that having more women in law enforcement can have a positive impact on the communities they serve.
