Detention centres: steps needed to prevent violence against women

Participants at a training workshop have stressed the need of steps for prevention of gender-based violence against women in the society, especially at the women inmate centres and police stations. Brigadier Haroon Rashid (Retd) while speaking at the training workshop for police officials here on at local hotel on Wednesday said.
"Effective steps need to take place by the government and relevant departments, to end gender-based violence against women at the detention centres and police stations. He said that gender-based violence reportedly increased in the country, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan due to lack of inadequate preventive steps in this regard.
He said that the discriminatory treatment against women at inmate centres and police stations should be ended by effective role of police department and other relevant law enforce agencies. The training workshop was arranged by Refugees Affected and Hosting Areas Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Programme under the social protection component of the programme.
Other key note speakers were included Ms Syed Shukriya, Provincial Programme Manager, RAHA-KP Programme, Mohammad Ilayas, RAHA-KP Gender Protection Officer, Imtiaz Khan, the programme co-ordinator, Ms Yasrab Nazir. More than 10 police officials from Peshawar, Nowshera and Dir Lower were participated in two-day training workshop on "Gender-based violence against women, aimed at to sensitise police officials about the increasing violence at the police stations and inmate centres.
Speakers have emphasised the government, police and law enforce agencies to take further steps for prevention of violence against women at the detention centres. They viewed that the gender-based violence against women have reportedly increased in the country, particularly in KP and Balochistan, which should be prevented by co-ordinated efforts of all relevant departments. The ratio of physically and psychologically torture of women had been increased, participants observed.
Brigadier Haroon Rashid said that law should be amended to bring reforms for prevention of gender-based violence against women at police stations and inmate facilities in the country. He said the women had subjected with violence in various forms, ie honour killing, acid-throwing, customs (Sawara) and others, which was violated the basic right of women in the society.