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KABUL, Afghanistan (June 24, 2017) – Ashraf Ghani, President of Afghanistan, spoke recently about the role of women in his country. “Over the course of centuries, women in our country have been the real supporters of life and peace.”
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Richard Kaiser, Commanding General for Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan and Afghan Lt. Gen. Janan Barekzai, First Deputy Minister of Interior, visited the Police District-17 Family Response Unit’s temporary location, where women police officers are trying to bring peace to the lives of women and children who are victims of domestic and other crimes.
“The Family Response Units, as part of the Afghanistan National Police, deal with women and children of domestic violence. Violence against women and children is so common, it has become a serious public health problem and the FRUs offer a safe place for women to report the abuse in hopes that it will change their lives and those of their children for a better future,” RS Senior Gender Advisor, Australian Army Col. Bronwyn Wheeler said.
During their visit, Kaiser and Barekzai inspected improvements made to the temporary facilities. CSTC-A, an integral part of Resolute Support’s mission, worked closely with the Ministry of Interior’s Facilities Director to design and build two temporary FRUs, one at Police District 17 and another at Police District 12.
“We help enable the Ministry of Interior efforts by providing the necessary funds and expertise when required. Our Afghan partners designated these two areas in Kabul as areas in particular need of services to help Afghan women and children. Any time we can provide assistance to those in need, it provides a special satisfaction,” Kaiser said.
Family Response Units support victims of domestic violence, sexual abuse, child marriage and other known issues. Police officers at the FRU, many of whom are women, investigate these crimes and provide support to women and children who turn to them for help.
“We donated four Re-locatable Buildings (RLBs) for each site, and MOI-FD managed the connections and refurbishment of the buildings. The total cost of the project was five million Afghanis,” Deputy Branch Chief of CSTC-A CJENG, Army Lt. Col. Aaron Gorges, said.
The FRU has waiting areas, office space, medical and interview areas, and shower and bathroom facilities, offering a safe place for women to stay after reporting crimes. Prior to the temporary facilities, the PD-17 FRU operated in the same office with the Afghan criminal investigation department, making it impossible for police FRU to interview victims in private.
“The hope is that when fully established, these centers can serve as models to export to other cities in need, such as Jalalabad, Herat, Kandahar and others...” Kaiser said.
Plans are underway to build permanent FRUs at PD-4, 8, 12, and 17. PD-17’s permanent FRU will be collocated with the new PD-17 police station. Resolute Support has constructed 41 FRUs and 93 Women’s Participation Program facilities across Afghanistan.
| Date Taken: | 06.22.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 06.26.2017 00:31 |
| Story ID: | 239105 |
| Location: | KABUL, AF |
| Web Views: | 97 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, A safe reporting shelter for Afghan survivors of domestic crimes, by SFC E. L. Craig, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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