Police Academy in Hunan Rolls Out 1st Anti-domestic Violence Classes

A police academy in Hunan Province, Central China, has launched the country's first training class for police instructors dedicated to better tackling domestic violence.

The Anti-domestic Violence Institute at Hunan Police Academy will give classes to teachers from provincial and municipal police training centers. The lessons will help them to set up anti-domestic violence programs of their own, promote the province's police anti-domestic violence work and improve officers’ ability to handle such cases.

The classes invite well-known experts in the fields of gender study and police anti-domestic violence to teach on gender equality, awareness, attitudes and intervention skills countering the commonplace issue.

The training covers 14 cities and prefectures within the province. Each local police instructors training center is required to send two instructors, including one who must be full-time.

Concerned members from local women’s federation also took part in the class. The event attracted teachers from police colleges in Guangdong, Shaanxi, Chongqing, Sichuan and other provinces, who each came to listen.

The training is a part of the UN program “Bring Gender Violence into Advocacy and Practice into Police Education and Training.”

In addition to anti-domestic violence, the training also involves the protection of the interests of minorities, which is also a first for police training in the country.

Zhu Xinbing from Xiangtan Municipal Police Academy said, "I will take home what I learned in the anti-domestic violence class. Our college is ready to open such courses".

Zheng Lidong, a party leadership group member from Hunan Women's Federation and discipline inspection commission secretary told the reporter that all police training centers in Hunan are likely to increase their awareness of anti-domestic violence and said hopefully this will trickle down into their field work.

Hunan police lead China in their work on anti-domestic violence, including the latest training scheme. Hunan Public Security Bureau began their anti-domestic violence training courses last November for officers in units all across the province. Such courses required further instructors and the current measures, co-organized by Education and Training Department of the Political Public Security Bureau and Hunan Province Women's Federation, are expected to meet the demand.

(Source: cnwomen.com.cn/Translated and edited by Women of China)