Rwanda National Police

A year after residents of Ruhango Sector in Ruhango District formed six anti-GBV clubs that were later merged to form one club; members say a lot has been achieved in mending families and addressing misunderstanding.

Residents announced the registered progress during the meeting with the District Community Liaison Officer Inspector of Police (IP) Angélique Abijuru. The meeting held last week, aimed at assessing the progress made by the clubs.

The clubs have been partly involved in identifying and reuniting conflict-ridden families. To residents, this has greatly been a success to which they will build on.

IP Abijuru said that the role played by different groups like anti-crime clubs, youth volunteers, night patrols and the overall responsibility of the people through information sharing on illegal acts.

“The steps you have taken in addressing cases of domestic and gender based violence are very impressive. We encourage you to keep up the spirit and bring more people on board,” IP Abijuru told the residents

“As you maintain such networks, also keep up with the trends of Gender Based Violence in societies, their causes and impact and gender responsiveness programs,” she advised.

During the meeting, both police and residents discussed on collaboration and reporting mechanisms and channels in place to prevent and respond to any GBV case that may occur in their communities.

It was also observed that Gender Based Violence diverts children's concentration on their education, and may sometimes contribute to drop-outs due to its consequences. Thus, IP Abijuru told residents that Rwanda considers GBV as a high impact crime and a violation of rights including those of children.

The DCLO added on that their continued efforts contribute a lot to the improvement of quality and effectiveness of anti-GBV interventions in place.

Rwanda has rolled out different mechanisms geared towards a GBV-free society and among those includes formulations of laws and creation of anti GBV clubs.

Rwanda National Police precisely works with partners including public and private agencies to be part of the fight, which helps to jointly devise strategies for effective prevention and response to gender based violence.