Members of Northern Region Police Women Network have been urged to take a leading role in fighting gender based violence (GBV) by ensuring that all perpetrators of GBV related crimes are brought to book.
The call was made by Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police Emmie Soko in Mzuzu on wednesday at the end of Operation Basad.
Operation Basad empowers female police officers across Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) to take leading roles in fighting crime.
The operation which falls within the 16 days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence, is conducted annually.
To mark the occasion, officers from units, posts and stations across the region, marched from Area 4 to the Regional Police Headquarters for the north as part of raising awareness against GBV.
“There are a lot of criminal activities such as domestic violence and property grabbing taking place in our communities and, as officers, we need to be vigilant to fight and prevent such vices,” said Soko.
Soko urged the officers to raise awareness and avoid being perpetrators of violence as they are considered as role models in their communities.
In her remarks, Chairperson the grouping, Gift Kambiri observed that domestic violence cases such as incest and defilement are on the rise because of the culture of silence.
Kambiri, therefore, urged the general public, particularly parents to child victims, to report all cases of abuse experienced by their children to relevant authorities, saying that abuse can leave devastating impacts in the lives of children thereby affecting their future.
“Failure to protect children from domestic violence can bleed a generation that can be involved in criminal activities as a way of relieving themselves of their childhood pain. We don’t want that in our country,” Kambiri said.
