Cox’s Bazar (AsiaNews) – Caritas Bangladesh held a training session on Sunday for 40 law enforcement officers working in refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, home to more than a million Rohingya from Myanmar. The aim was to boost police capacity to prevent and address gender-based violence, focusing on protecting women and children and supporting victims.
Titled Strengthening the Capacity of Law Enforcement Agency on Responding to Gender-Based Violence, the initiative was promoted by Caritas Bangladesh’s Emergency Response Programme, with funding from the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace, in collaboration with Global Affairs Canada.
The training took place at Long Beach Hotel in Cox’s Bazar and involved primarily members of the Armed Police Battalion (APBN), the police force responsible for security in Bangladesh’s refugee camps.
Attendees included Md Al-Mamunul Ansary, deputy inspector general for APBN operations in Cox’s Bazar, who spoke as a special guest; and Nazmul Islam Bhuiyan, Additional Refugee Relief and Repatriation commissioner at the Cox’s Bazar Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner’s office. Also present were Md Aftabuzzaman Al Imran, senior assistant secretary, and Liton Gomes, project director of Caritas Bangladesh’s Emergency Response Programme.
In his opening remarks, Gomes emphasised the need to strengthen the skills of those working directly with the most vulnerable communities in the camps.
A key aspect of the training focused on the relationship between law enforcement and victim support. Bhuiyan explained that reports of gender-based violence incidents reach him every month.
“Every month, I receive reports concerning incidents of gender-based violence, many of which occur at night,” he explained. “However, punishment alone is not the only solution. You are also requested to provide counselling and support to the people affected.”
According to Bhuiyan, APBN personnel are in a particularly important position precisely because of their daily presence in the camps and their direct relationship with the Rohingya.
“You remain with them and interact with them for nearly 24 hours a day,” he said. “Therefore, you are in a unique position to identify concerns at an early stage, provide initial counselling, and help prevent incidents of gender-based violence.”
Ansary urged the officers to apply the tools learnt during the sessions to their daily work.
The APBN official also asked Caritas Bangladesh to organise similar initiatives for newly recruited police officers, emphasising the need to extend the training to those who do not yet have experience working in the camps.
The day’s sessions covered concepts of sex and gender, the root causes and consequences of gender-based violence, and some of the most common misconceptions regarding violence against women and children.
Participants also took part in a GBV Tree Analysis, a tool used to examine the causes and consequences of gender-based violence and to understand the dynamics contributing to the problem.
Part of the training was also dedicated to the practical tools available to law enforcement.
The sessions addressed the role and responsibilities of APBN personnel in identifying risk situations and responding to protection issues, as well as the procedures for reporting incidents and referring victims to specialised services.
The training included a session dedicated to stress management and self-care, taking into account the challenging conditions in which the agents operate within the refugee camps.
The day ended with remarks from Gomes, who reiterated the importance of ongoing collaboration between Caritas Bangladesh and the Government of Bangladesh in preventing and responding to violence.
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