Women, children help desk opened in Cox’s Bazar Rohingya camp

Cox's Bazar police and UN Women have launched a Women and Children Help Desk, the first of its kind in Rohingya camps, at Madhuchara Police Camp-1 in Cox's Bazar district.

Over 70 people representing various stakeholders: Rohingya women leaders, Government high officials, UN agencies, international and local organisations, Camp-in-Charges and different forum members attended the opening ceremony held yesterday where ABM Masud Hossain, Superintendent of Police(SP), Cox's Bazar and Shoko Ishikawa, Country Representative, UN Women Bangladesh inaugurated the facility according to a press release issued in this regard today.

The help desk service has been established upon the request of the Cox's Bazar SP with support from the Government of Germany.

It will have dedicated and trained female police officers to assist Rohingya women and children, and facilities for female police officers to be able to stay overnight also to provide 24-hour services, said the UN Women press release.

The presence of female police officers in the camps is critical and comes in response to long-standing concerns raised about the safety and security issues of Rohingya women and children such as trafficking and domestic violence.

"We have not been able to approach anyone to report wrongdoings against us as women, however the existence of female police officers and the help desk now gives us confidence that the camps will be safer to live in, and law and order will be upheld", quotes the press release one Rohingya women leader as saying.

A female police officer expressed their readiness in dealing with complaints received from the refugees, and along with SP ABM Masud Hossain, thanked UN Women and all partners for supporting the initiative, the release also reads.

Shoko Ishikawa, Country Representative, UN Women, Bangladesh remarked that women's help desks are expected to make it easier for women to approach police for help.

Furthermore, she stressed on the need for other agencies to take similar initiatives to increase the representation of female police members in the Rohingya camps in Cox's Bazar.

In December 2018, UN Women trained 55 female police, focused on procedures for handling Gender Based Violence (GBV) & Domestic Violence (DV) cases, management and reporting, collection of evidences with an emphasis on forensic evidence and victim-centered interviewing techniques for women and children who have experienced GBV/DV.

In order to strengthen overall procedures and to provide prompt services, UN Women in collaboration with Police, has established the 'Women and Children Desk' as part of the police station located in camp-4, the press release concludes.