PESHAWAR: Speakers at a consultation called for ensuring that women and transgender persons facing violence were facilitated in registering FIRs by setting up dedicated desks or assigning trained personnel at police stations to handle gender-based violence (GBV) cases efficiently.

The consultation on “Protection and Response Mechanism for Gender-Based Violence Survivors” was organised by Aawaz II programme.

The event brought together more than 60 women, persons with disabilities, transgender persons, and religious minorities from districts including Peshawar, Nowshehra, Buner, Lower Dir, Abbottabad, Mardan, Malakand and Kohat.

The KP government was establishing facilities to help survivors of gender-based violence to learn skills that would help them become more self-reliant, said Warda Latif, deputy secretary, social welfare and women’s empowerment while speaking on the occasion.

She said 125 industrial training centres had been upgraded to provide advanced skills to gender-based violence survivors, linking them directly to the market, which was a substantial step towards reintegrating violence survivors in society.

In her address, Rafat Yasmin, gender and inclusion adviser, Aawaz II, said: “Aawaz II has its presence in 14 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with a focus on addressing issues related to gender-based violence, child marriages and social cohesion.

The programme has established volunteer forums at village, district and provincial levels, which link service providers with the community to respond to their needs directly.”

Mr Zikriya, programme analyst GBV from UNFPA, Peshawar office, said that government departments like police, health and social welfare must have strong coordination at multiple levels to ensure effective delivery of services for protection and response to gender-based violence. UNFPA was supporting the social welfare department in developing a database for Darul Aman and Bolo Helpline, he added.

The participants recommended improving accessibility of Darul Aman (shelters) for women with disabilities and provide training and sensitisation to the staff.

Besides, they also called for establishing specialised safe homes designed specifically for transgender persons to provide them with protection, support, and opportunities for skill development.

Speaking about the importance of consultation, Rashida Dohad, executive director of Omar Asghar Khan Foundation, said this consultation was of utmost importance to gain insights from their experiences in accessing these services present at the district level.

Published in Dawn, June 10th, 2023