KADUNA- The ClEEN Foundation has brought together leaders of the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) from across 19 Northern States for an intensive capacity building workshop aimed at strengthening community-police collaboration and deepening strategies for preventing Gender-Based Violence (GBV).
The two-day programme, themed ‘Demystifying GBV Myths and Stereotypes for PCRC Members, Strengthening Community Police Collaboration for a Safer Society’, focused on equipping the participants with practical tools, knowledge, and preventive mechanisms needed to curb the rising cases of GBV across communities.
Speaking in an interview, Mr Salaudeen Hashim, Programme Director of the foundation, said the training was designed to empower the PCRC leaders with the capacity to play a more strategic role in preventing GBV and improving police–community trust.
According to him, the PCRC remains “the bridge between the community and the Nigerian Police Force,” serving as the eyes, ears, and voices of the people.
He stated that the growing economic pressures in households had exacerbated GBV cases, with violations occurring both within communities and occasionally in the course of law-enforcement activities.
“We are here to give them the capacity, equipment and the right tools to join in preventing GBV in various environments.
“The PCRC is not just a committee but partners in building a safe society. We are providing them with knowledge support, toolkits, and a preventive framework that strengthens reporting, handling, referral pathways, and prosecution processes.”
He also disclosed that foundation planned to support the PCRC in developing a National Action Plan on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) and provide forensic test kits to aid evidence preservation for prosecution.
“Our priority is prevention. If preventive infrastructure is strengthened, we will see fewer cases.
“And where violations occur, there must be adequate prosecution to show that GBV is a criminal offence, not a civil matter,” he added.
Hashim said that a total of 30 participants drawn from various states in Northern Nigeria attended the training, following a similar session earlier held for PCRC members from Southern Nigeria in Lagos.
Also speaking, Alhaji Magaji Olaniyan, the National Chairman, PCRC, described the programme as a “train the trainer” initiative that would be cascaded across the country through the PCRC state and local chapters.
“Whatever we learn here will be taken back to our national meeting and to our communities.
“We did the same after the Lagos training, and it has already started yielding results,” he said.
Olaniyan dtated that one of the most significant challenges the PCRC faces was funding for advocacy and outreach.
He, therefore, commended the foundation for stepping in to provide training support, especially in an era where PCRC activities are largely self-funded.
Olaniyan gave examples of successful interventions inspired by previous trainings it had conducted them, including a recent case in Delta where a teacher who was a PCRC member reported a man who allegedly abused his three biological children.
“That was because of the little training we passed on to society.
$Teachers are closest to the children, and since children especially girls are the most vulnerable, we have been training teachers, parents, and guardians,” Olaniyan said.
He added that the committee had intensified outreaches to public as well as private schools nationwide and it plans to extend community sensitisation to markets and other public spaces.
“We are going to redouble our efforts. After this training, we will move to the markets and engage men and women.
“This will form part of my directive at our next national meeting,” he said.
According to him, the workshop is expected to strengthen preventive system and improve monitoring of law enforcement conduct.
It will also enhance community reporting mechanisms, and deepen collaboration between the citizens and the Nigeria Police Force in addressing GBV.(NAN)
