The Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) has made many significant steps to improve the way it responds and manages gender based violence incidents
Participating groups during the parade at White River at the closing program
The Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) has made many significant steps to improve the way it responds and manages gender based violence incidents in Solomon Islands.
“Although there is much work to do since the passage of the Family Protection Act in 2014, the RSIPF has made many significant steps to improve the way the Force responds and manages gender based violence incidents during the past 12 months,” says RSIPF Commissioner Matthew Varley.
Commissioner Varley explains: “RSIPF has strengthened its partnerships with key stakeholders through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with members of SAFENet in July 2018 and opened a new Family Violence (FV) office at the Central Police Station in Honiara.”
“There has also been an increase in the number of FV reports completed and an increase in the number of Police Safety Notices (PSNs) being completed correctly, served on the respondent and filed in Court. This follows the completion of a two-week FV Coordinators’ Workshop in September this year,” says Commissioner Varley.
He adds: “As a result of increased training for frontline officers by FV Coordinators there have been 168 Police Safety Notices served and filed in Court as from the end of October this year. In addition there has been 87 Protection Orders served and filed in Court.”
“But to be honest, police work is not the answer to the problem of violence against women and girls.
It is very important that we must work together to fight and end violence against women and girls and taking a multi-sectoral approach rather than each one working in silos,”
says Commissioner Varley.
“I acknowledge the support of other stakeholders including the churches and others for their support in providing humanitarian assistance to the victims of gender based violence.”
