The IBCR team of the empowerment of girls and frontline actors against sexual and gender-based violence project in Senegal visited a police station to meet with female police officers, and to discuss the realities of their daily work. 

The meeting took place in Mbao, a suburb of Dakar, on 10 March, a few days after International Women’s Rights Day and nearly forty years after the presence of women in the Senegalese national police force. It provided an opportunity to discuss and identify good practices, either already in place or yet to be put in place, that would allow for better protection of children’s rights, particularly girls’ rights, especially during their time at the police station.

Several issues were highlighted, such as the importance of coordination between the teams, the strengthening of the population to encourage them to denounce bad practices and offences against the law, or the importance of clarifying the role of the “Badienou Gokh “*, these women who enjoy the respect and trust of the local populations, and who represent a considerable help for the police officers to work closer to the populations. 

These exchanges will serve to better orient future training and activities for the project, and will ultimately help to better protect children who come into contact with the police in Senegal. 

*Chosen from the neighbourhoods, the badiénou gokh are confidants, counsellors and referents in their community. The Senegalese government set up this system of “neighbourhood godmothers” 10 years ago.

Lear more about the project in Senegal

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