-Out of 5,034 LNP officers, only 951 are women
By Mafanta Kromah
Monrovia, Liberia – A survey conducted by UN Women, civil society organization and gender personnel under the Ministry of Justice and officers of the Liberia National Police or LNP has exposed the gender gap and other gender issues within in the Liberia National Police (LNP).
According to the survey, out of 5,034 police officers 951 are women, constituting only 19 percent of the total.
The report revealed that most officers are aware of gender term, but are all the practical exercise from workshop, it also reflected the limitation of staff in their grasp of gender mainstreaming in practice.
The report further revealed that most of the training that has delivered to officers is at elementary level and is not usually tailored to the areas of work staffs involved in.
However, it also indicated that there are few officers who have had the opportunity to access more in-dept training on gender mainstreaming, such as gender analysis, planning and evaluation and among others. The survey also shows that the LNP does not have sufficient capacity of gender specialists and adequate trainers who are important catalysts for such knowledge impartation.
According to the survey report, as regard to gender issues in the contest of LNP existing gender expertise, competence and capacity building, 22 percent of women and men out of the 137 participants think they can fulfil completely, 27 percent of women and 36 percent of men says they can sufficiently fulfil the expectations to introduce gender issues in different stages of service and program and implementation at their level.
Also, one third of the participants think they can insufficiently fulfil expectation, while 22 percent of women and eight percent of men cannot fulfil expectations at all.
The LNP was however the first security institution to formulate a gender policy in 2004, a special investigative unit was set up in 2005, the Women and Children Protection Section focus on gender-based violence and violence against women and children cases and also a gender affairs section was established in 2008.
The survey which was conducted through interview, workshop and survey, it was conducted by two women from the MOJ Gender and Security Sector National Taskforce, one woman from the CSO, one woman, two men from the National Police Academy and two men from the LNP Gender Affairs Section, which is total to eight people and 137 people participated in the survey.
Though the LNP has goals and objectives on human rights and gender mainstreaming, the report states on the issue of objectives, programming and implementation cycle that 41 percent of women and 35 percent of men feel that the LNP provide its officers with insufficient guidance and information regarding gender issues. Twenty percent of men also agree with this, 27 percent of women and 15 percent of men think there is no guidance at all and while only four percent of women think that the LNP provide its officers with sufficient guidance.
Regarding information and knowledge management in the LNP, 47 percent of women and 35 percent of men think that the arrangements that have been made are not adequate to allow the free flow exchange of information and experiences on gender issues within and between department and field structures, about 10 to 17 percent women and 8 to 33 percent men feel it is completely adequate for them.
According information, the LNP has trained over 4,800 officers in modern policing methods and over 1,000 of this number have also received specialized training both locally and International ranging from certificate to post-gradual degree. They have also launched their website, conducted awareness campaign on gender-based violence and disseminated printed manuals.
On the LNP staff perception of achievement of gender equality, eight percent of women, eighteen percent of men think that their sections do enough to discourage expressions of gender inequality in the organization, related to the fact that LNP has a gender policy. But there are no efficient accountability mechanisms in place where the policy implementation is not visible.
The report recommended that the LNP improve workplace protection with regard to working condition and sexual harassment. It also called for the minimum quota at least 30 percent female employment in the LN, that LNP design and implement programs to increase the number of women at all level including key decision making positions and also recruit women in areas where they are under represented, such as commissioner supervisory and among others.
The survey report requests that the LNP improve its communication strategies to promote gender equality and the value of women’s participation and leadership, mainstreaming gender at all level of training and capacity building to close the existing gender gap in the LNP; reflect more on addressing the institutional weaknesses of the low capacity of female and male officers, their competence and training on gender and that the LNP network with international and national institutions to prioritize empowerment program for women officers and capacity building for gender specialists and gender trainers.
However, during the validation of the report at the LNP headquarters on Monday, January 15, 2019, the Country Director of Un Women, Marie-Goreth Nizigama encouraged participants, to review the draft document and provide concrete inputs that reflect the situation of the LNP.
“Let me emphasize here that this document does not belong to UN Women, rather the LNP; therefore, I urged the senior leadership to take full ownership and ensure the implementation of the findings contained therein, she noted.
One of the eye-catching findings of this audit is the fact that ONLY nineteen percent of the entire LNP officers are females. While I recognize the challenges, I would like to appeal to this senior leadership of the LNP to identify strategies that would boost the number of females joining the force. I am happy that the draft report proposes recommendations that will help boost females’ enlistment into the force.
“I want to challenge this administration of the LNP to ensure the number of females in the force increases as well as the number of female officers in senior leadership positions as stated in the National Gender Policy of the Government of Liberia. To this end, I assure you of UN Women’s continuous support,” she lamented.
Nizigama announced that UN Women has completed the development of a software (database) that will enhance the capacity of the LNP’s Women and Children Protection Section to track, document and report accurate statistics on SGBV and related crimes.
This software she said is currently in use after training the data officers and fully equipping their offices with desks, chairs, air conditioners and most of all computers which will ensure that LNP responds to the security needs of women, children and men.
At the same time, Maude Somah of GSSN, who also participated in the conduct of the survey noted that the report belongs to the LNP and that they should consider the document as important and something to be implemented. “Everything in this document are statements made by officers of the LNP, we have nothing in it,” she stressed.
She urged the leadership of the LNP to increase women participation at senior level and local level, she indicated that the report be put in use so that after everything there are results.
Moreover, the Deputy Commissioner of Police for Administration, Saymor K. Mulbah said there have capacity problem with women though they are working on addressing that. He said, the LNP accept that the analysis presented in the report are all facts and promise the LNP will work on it to improve their services and gender balance.
He maintained the lack of funding to be reason they have not had 30 percent women employed in the entity. “To allow female compete with their male counterpart, their capacity must be build,” he stated.
He continues “gender is everybody business and must be address, thanks to UN Women for this support and we promise to fully implement whatever findings and recommendations in it. We want to make this document our own and not UN Women. We are fully accepting critiques to help improve our service to the people and we will use this document to improve the gender balance in the LNP.”
Speaking with the Chief of WACPS, Susie T. Telleh said she agreed with everything the report says about challenges and difficulties women face in the male dominate field like the security sector. She noted that women are doing everything possible to improve their capability and are also competing with their counterpart.
However, she noted that it is a perception of society that women aren’t capable or women can’t do well as compare to the men, she said all women need to capacity building and more opportunity like their counterpart.
Madam Telleh who has worked with the LNP for over 14 years encouraged her female colleagues to build up their capacity and self confident in order to be at the front line with the men. “We women belong to the front seat and not at the back seat as society has place us,” she indicated.