New DOVVSU officers undergo training

The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) has organised one-week training for newly posted officers of the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU).

The officers have been posted to the 11 police regions of the country. And the training was designed to address gaps in the handling of sexual and gender based violence cases as well as equipping the officers with the requisite skills and knowledge to enable them work efficiently. Besides, they were introduced to new subject areas which are essential with regard to their investigations.

The officers were taken through topics such as Understanding Sexual and Gender Based Violence, Case Formulation and Management, Sexual and Reproductive Health, Investigating ‘Sextortion’, Investigating Sexual Abuse Cases, Electronic Evidence, Ethics and Integrity, among others.

Addressing officers during the closing ceremony of the training programme organised at the Detective Training Academy, the deputy Director General in charge of the Criminal Investigations Department, ACP Mr Francis Aboagye Nyarko said violence in all its forms, whether occurring in the domestic setting or the public sphere is unacceptable and perpetrators should be punished by law.

He said available statistics suggest women are those who are normally abused physically either by their current or former partners.

“In Ghana, the situation is not different and violence continues to be experienced by women in particular throughout their life cycle. Many customary practices and laws implicitly compromise the situation of women in society but we must also know that men are under pressure by society to establish their authority and power in the home and community and by keeping women in line as both men and women are socialized to believe,” he indicated.

The National DOVVSU Coordinator, Chief Superintendent Owusuaa Kyeremeh, in an address, said the function of DOVVSU requires a certain degree of competence in accordance with international best practices in order for participants to properly manage sexual and gender-based violence cases.

She said the topics were strategically chosen with the aim of meeting the demands of modern investigations.

“You will agree with me that the commission of crime has gone scientific and as a result there is the need for our officers to be abreast of the times; hence the introduction of electronic evidence and ‘sextortion’ into the training programme,” she disclosed.