Islamabad-Women police officers from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and the federal territory today completed leadership and countering gender-based violence training conducted by University of Queensland and representatives in Islamabad.

The two-week ‘Women in Policing’ course, designed and delivered under the ‘Australia Awards Pakistan’ program, will support 23 career women police officers to be competitive for appointment to positions of leadership in the Pakistan Police Services (PPS) and to enhance their ability to effectively respond to incidents of Gender-based Violence (GBV).

The University of Queensland in Brisbane is renowned for its experience in providing leadership training for women in policing. The course participants learned legal, theoretical and practical aspects of policing gender-based violence around the world, as well as within the Pakistan context. Australian High Commissioner Margaret Adamson congratulated the women police officers on their participation.

“The ‘Women in Policing’ course is an initiative by the Australian Government, under the Australia Awards program Pakistan, to help to counter gender-based violence in Pakistan,” Adamson said.

Australian High Commission Senior Police Liaison Officer, Philip Hunter noted that gender diversity brought greater transparency and improved ethical considerations which were critical elements when dealing with Gender-Based Violence matters. 

“One of the key strategies to gaining trust is a professional and motivated cadre of policewomen, in particular policewomen in leadership roles, and Pakistan policewomen are at the forefront of that strategy,” Hunter said.

Australia Awards are part of the Australian government’s development assistance partnership with Pakistan.