Police has pledged to strengthen the fight against Gender Based Violence across the country.

In an interview with The NewTimes, the Police Spokesperson, Theos Badege stated that they will soon launch countrywide awareness campaigns to sensitise people about gender based violence.

He said that the campaigns will be part of the activities to mark the Gender Based Violence week that will run next week from Monday October 10 to 16th.

 "We will conduct campaigns through which we will engage the public on how effectively to combat the vice. People need to know their rights and the effects of GBV so as to join the fight against it,” Badege said.

Badege observed that through sensitisation, the culture of silence by persons who fell victim to GBV, has reduced.

He also disclosed that a new facility has been set up at the police headquarters in Kacyiru to specifically handle GBV and child protection cases.

"With the new facility, we will provide services such as intervening and rescuing GBV and child abuse victims, counseling, investigating and following up perpetrators of GBV,” Badege said.

He added that lately, more victims trust the police and report their cases to the authorities more frequently than before.

There is a GBV desk at every police station and majority are headed by female police officers, according to Badege.

The police spokesperson further noted that the highest cases reported are child defilement, physical abuse, suicide, rape and a few of couples murdering each other.

"This year alone, there are 14 cases of women murdered by their husbands and six cases of men murdered by their wives,” Badege added.

Belline Mukamana, who works in the Anti-GBV and Child Protection Directorate at police, said that as a way of strengthening the fight against GBV, clubs have been established in schools.

"Anti-GBV clubs have been established in schools. Here, students get to know their rights so that they don’t fall victims of abuse,” Mukamana said.

She added that community policing and GBV committees have been established to restrain this kind of violence.

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