Over the course of 10 days in July, 50 police officers in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) participated in a gender-transformative training led by Equimundo, as part of the Young Men’s Clubs Against Violence (YMCAV) project in Kinshasa. Participants included police from the three pilot municipalities where the YMCAV project is being carried out (Makala, Kintambo, and Bumbu), as well as provincial and national representatives. The workshop’s objectives were for police to learn gender-transformative methodology in a practical way, to understand the objectives of the YMCAV project, and to comprehend their role in its implementation.
The YMCAV project was officially launched on June 7, 2017 in Kinshasa, DRC. Led by the Living Peace Institute (LPI) and Equimundo, which are members of the Equimundo Global Consortium, the YMCAV project aims to reduce street violence by preventing 10- to 19-year-old boys from joining – and helping them leave – Kulunas, or local street gangs, which are increasingly affecting the Kinshasan municipalities of Kintambo, Bumbu, and Makala.
At the 10-day training, the Deputy Commissioner-General in charge of the judicial police (police judiciaire), Mr. Bayelongandi, represented the Commissioner-General of the Congolese National Police for the launch of activities with the police. In his opening remarks, the Deputy Commissioner-General invited the participants to be assiduous in their efforts to become models for change. He stated that, following this training, the police should be equipped not just to stop violence, but to work toward eradicating violence in all its forms.
Equimundo Program Officer Shamsi Kazimbaya called on participants to fully engage in the training from start to finish, in order to become a driving force for transformation. She reiterated that the aim of the project is to prevent urban violence through targeting young men in schools and youth centers.
See a selection of photos from the police training in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo below:
