KIGALI - A team of 26 Members of Parliament from South Sudan on Tuesday visited the national police headquarters in Kacyiru to borrow ideas on how the police have managed to deal with the Gender Based Violence (GBV), and commended the force for its strategies which have seen the crime reduce by over 60 percent.

The lawmakers are in the country on a one-week tour. They visited the GBV desk in the force where they were explained how it functions and how it has helped victims and bringing criminals to justice.

Inspector of Police Goreth Mwenzangu, the head of Gender desk at RNP, explained to the delegates how the desk operates and its impact on the Rwandan community saying that to effectively combat the crime, GBV offices were also established at all police units across the country.

The Sudanese also visited ISANGE One-Stop Centre at Kacyiru Police Hospital which was established last year to cater for victims of child, domestic and gender based violence.

The hospital Director, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Daniel Nyamwasa, said that since its inception 13 months ago, the centre has received 1,427 GBV cases, 95 percent of the victims being female.

He added that 56 percent of the female GBV victims are children below 15 years. Alex Aya, a member of the delegation, observed that despite the country having passed through political chaos, it has initiated valiant programmes to help women.

"GBV is said to be still high in South Sudan and we hope to gain knowledge on gender balance and this will help us sensitize our people on gender issues”, he added.
The delegation will also visit the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion and other Gender-based associations in the country.

Due to political conflicts that have prevailed for years in the Southern part of the country, GBV crimes such as forced marriages, sexual harassment and assault are said to be very high.

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