Friday at the National Police School, the General Directorate of the National Police of Haiti (PNH) in partnership with the Ministry for the Status of Women has launched the project to strengthen mechanisms for recruitment of women within the PNH to maximize the number of women in the institution at all levels. Eunide Innocent, the resigning Minister for the Status of Women regretted that the female staff of the PNH was less than 10%

In his speech, Michel-Ange Gédéon, the Director General of the PNH said he encouraged efforts to integrate many more women into the Haitian police and promised to work more to increase their numbers.

Excerpt from Gédéon's speech :

"Today, I reiterate to the Coordination of Women's Affairs of the PNH their duty to take initiatives to motivate young Haitian women to join the PNH. We are aware that there are multiple parameters that tend to hinder the optimal and effective participation of women in the PNH, such as: our socialization since early childhood, our culture still patriarchal in many ways and especially the sexist perception vis-à-vis women.

[...] You will agree with me that the PNH alone can not achieve this goal. Other actors in society need to be involved too. I also extend special thanks to the partner structures involved in the implementation of this project. I would like to highlight with strong ink the contributions of UN-women in the continuous training of police officers. In 2016, she helped to implement a project that trained members of some communities, including to Limbé and Borgne, to help reduce community violence. I extend special thanks to the Ministry for the Status of Women for its support of the PNH in this difficult struggle. My thanks also go to the Women's Affairs Coordination, which is in charge of leading this great battle for the equality and emancipation of women.

Police Officers of the Coordination of Women's Affairs,

Keep doing your job with seriousness and professionalism. Do not settle for the routine and do not cultivate a tendency to procrastinate. Be spirited, cultivate the sense of initiative.

[...] I promise to accompany you more for better results.

Long live the PNH !

Long live the Haitian woman !"

Recall that with Minujusth, the PNH has set a target of 15 to 20% of women in its workforce by 2020. According to the National Network for Human Rights (RNDDH) as of June 28, 2016, the workforce of the PNH was 13,825 agents, 87.37% men and 12.63% women (1,747).

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-24602-haiti-security-canada-reliable-partner-of-the-pnh.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-17417-haiti-security-graduation-of-the-26th-promotion-of-the-pnh.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-13011-haiti-security-graduation-ceremony-of-1-118-new-pnh-officers.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-8282-haiti-security-only-8-of-police-officers-are-women.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-6546-haiti-security-more-women-in-the-pnh.html

HL/ HaitiLibre