Police as an entry point to end violence against women and girls

Policing is one of the essential services of a coordinated multi-sectoral response to violence against women and girls. A well-functioning frontline of police officers has the potential to increase the likelihood of justice and reparations for women and girl survivors of violence by improving documentation (including medical documentation) of violence, strengthening police investigations and overall deepening cross-sector responses to violence against women and girls.

While the importance of police training is well understood, there is less research and evidence documenting the important role of civil society and women's rights organizations in supporting and working with law enforcement agencies.

Drawing on the work of 52 organizations funded by the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women (UN Trust Fund) globally this synthesis review documents evidence from project reports and final, external evaluations to summarize:

• the various strategies civil society organizations (CSOs) have employed to strengthen law enforcement agencies and frontline officers in responding to violence against women and girls (VAW/G);
• the survivor-level and institution-level outcomes of these strategies;
• the challenges faced by CSOs in implementing police training; and
• recommendations and lessons for projects working on police training.

The review found that CSOs supported by the UN Trust Fund have worked effectively on advocating for change from within law enforcement agencies, incrementally building their capacity to respond to VAW/G through the institutionalization of police trainings, amongst other results.