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The police component of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) concluded on Sunday (June 17th) a weeklong workshop on gender-based violence in Mogadishu.

Participants in the workshop included members of the Somali police force and the Somali Ministry of Women Affairs and Family Support, as well as Somali public health officials and representatives from Ethiopia, Sierra Leone and Rwanda.

The workshop comes at a time when AMISOM is expanding the mission and needs the support of the Somali police force, said Ambassador Boubacar Gaoussou Diarra, the Special Representative for the Chairperson of the African Union Commission for Somalia and head of AMISOM.

"As we expand the mission, the challenges ahead will be many," he said. "This will require a well trained Somali Police Force capable of understanding all aspects of policing and also capable of enforcing the rule of law and protecting its population including women who are vulnerable in a conflict environment."

AMISOM Police Commissioner Charles Makono said the workshops helped the Somali police develop strategies to effectively address violence against women, children and other vulnerable groups, including internally displaced persons.

"The workshop has also helped us to develop a framework to establish victim-friendly courts to handle cases involving gender-based violence that will deal with the perpetrators as a way to restore the dignity of victim," he said.