Gender Sensitive Police Reform in Post Conflict Societies

This briefing paper reviews UNIFEM and UNDP experiences in building the capacity of police services to respond to women's security needs. The paper distinguishes between internal reforms to facilitate recruitment of larger numbers of women, and reforms to police operational and accountability systems. The latter enable the police to address gender-based violence more effectively, and to develop other services that protect women and children from abuses of their rights. They include a complex range of reforms to incentive systems, performance measures, practical infrastructural arrangements, and information and communication systems.The paper concludes by stressing the importance of women's engagement in accountability mechanisms to review police performance and support efforts to correct for poor practice.