In February 2011, an assessment was conducted of the response by government, civil society, and international agencies to gender-based violence in Angola. Based on the results, and consistent with GHI focus on womens issues and gender equality, an Angola Domestic Violence (DV) Action Plan was developed with 3 objectives: (1) provide technical assistance for the development and implementation of police procedures and guidelines for dealing with survivors of DV, (2) build capacity of police personnel by training them to respond to DV and follow procedures related to DV, and (3) document the experience in building police capacity to advocate for expansion to other police stations and possibly the national police academy. In FY12, two pilot police sites will be selected in consultation with the Luanda Provincial Command. Police officers and commanders are the principle target populations for this intervention, with participation of officials from relevant government ministries as well. Through this pilot approach, and by exploring options for linking with the national police academy, the project aims to institutionalize a standardized approach for improved responsiveness to DV that can be broadly disseminated. In addition to a baseline assessment of available structures, resources, and staffing at the two pilot sites, a detailed monitoring and evaluation plan will be implemented, including methodologies such as focus group discussions and/or Participatory Ethnographic Evaluation Research (PEER) studies with women in the community and with police officers to track perceptions, barriers, and sensitivities. With FY12 funds, project activities will be expanded into other police districts.

This activity will help strengthen governance and leadership systems to support implementation of a recently passed law against gender-based violence (GBV) in Angola. A number of challenges exist --- gender is a relatively new concept in Angola, social systems generally seek to keep families united and are not supportive of criminal charges or divorce proceedings in cases of domestic violence, it is difficult to file a domestic violence complaint in the current system, few personnel are trained in GBV, and referral systems for counseling and health services are lacking. Because of these barriers, women are often unprotected and trapped in abusive relationships and continue to be victims of GBV occurrences with no support and recourse. To address these issues, guidelines, linkages, and referrals between institutions and response systems need to be identified, strengthened and perhaps created to support implementation of the law and provide protection for victims of domestic violence. The project provides a team of consultants, including a local professional as the primary liaison with Angolan authorities, to provide technical assistance and training to the project sites. Activities for FY12 include adapting the Men as Partners (MAP) training manual and other materials, developing job guides for police officers to use in responding to DV complaints, and delivering workshops in the MAP methodology, gender equality, and DV response. FY12 funds will support activities that build on the experiences and lessons learned from the two pilot police sites with a goal of expanding interventions to additional police units. Partnering with the national police academy to help integrate DV training into the pre-service curriculum and refresher training programs can support country ownership and sustainability. Potential linkages with other PEPFAR-funded activities may include connecting police sites with health facilities supported under the Strengthening Angolan Systems for Health (SASH) activity to provide DV survivors with timely referrals to services such as HCT, PMTCT, and FP.

This intervention will also build, create and support critical linkages to, and between, support services and the legal system. The implementation of the GBV intervention, requires a strong partnership with the GRA's MINFAMU, who will be tasked with implementation of the legislation. However, other relevant ministries and stakeholders will also play important roles and the USG will collaborate with these key stakeholders to implement this policy. The UNDP and UNFPA, the European Commission, the local organization OMA and the Norwegian NGO Ajuda Popular de Noruega (APN) are key stakeholders that have already done a lot of work in the area of gender and GBV in Angola. This project will coordinate with other prevention efforts to strategically incorporate interventions targeting gender-related issues into the comprehensive prevention package. This activity will also create and strengthen linkages with other prevention activities such as the, Community Based Prevention and MARPs projects, to improve how the government and civil society address gender issues, specific to the GBV legislation.