The Jordanian Public Security Directorate Partners with UN Women to launch its first Gender Mainstreaming Strategy

Jordan’s Public Security Directorate (PSD), in partnership with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), launched its first Gender Mainstreaming Strategy (2021-2024). The strategy aims to increase women’s representation in senior leadership roles, their retention in service, and improve their participation across security sector roles and peacekeeping operations, both locally and overseas.  During the launch, the strategy’s three main goals were unveiled; which include the promotion of an enabling environment that is conducive for women’s participation, entrenching gender equality into the department’s employment procedures, policies and practices, as well as establishing reliable mechanisms to oversee the outcomes of such strategies.

Deputizing for Public Security Directorate Director Major General Hussein Al Hawatmeh, Assistant for Administration and Logistic Support Brigadier General Mutasem Abu Shattal said, “Women’s participation in the country’s security forces is a crucial component of their effectiveness. With this in mind, the PSD has implemented a four-year strategy that features a number of considered policies and procedures that respond to gender. This strategy promotes gender equality in a manner that ensures equitable access for women to all roles, education, training, and opportunities.”

PSD’s strategy, which is based on the careful analysis of training needs conducted by the directorate in early 2020 and gender self-evaluation completed in September of the same year, is fully aligned with and will contribute to the implementation of Jordan’s National Action Plan on the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security 2018-2021 (JONAP), positioning PSD as the leading Arab public security service that has adopted gender-responsive policy and procedures.

Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW) Secretary General Dr. Salma Nims said, PSD’s spearheading the adoption of a Gender mainstreaming strategy is not only contributing to the implementation of JONAP and the effectiveness of its management and operation, but also it is becoming a catalyst for change in Jordan. By becoming a lead national advocate for gender equality and gender mainstreaming, PSD is contributing to the implementation of Goal 4 of the National Women Strategy in Jordan (2020-2025), that “Formal Institutions have effective accountability frameworks & the capacity to develop and implement policies, legislation, and services and to allocate budgets that support GEWE”.

Since the adoption of the JONAP in 2018, the PSD has championed the integration of a gender perspective into its operations and taken action to increase the number of women at all levels, which paved the way for the adoption of this comprehensive Gender Mainstreaming Strategy. These included the creation of a gender office and the appointing gender focal points, whose functions and responsibilities have been strengthened by dedicated capacity building opportunities organized in 2020, paired with awareness sessions on gender mainstreaming targeting officers across various departments.

H.E. Bridget Brind OBE, British Ambassador to Jordan said “I’d like to commend the Public Security Directorate (PSD) on this important milestone and reiterate the continued commitment of the UK to supporting the Government of Jordan’s implementation of their National Action Plan”.  “Jordan’s security institutions have made important strides in championing the integration of women. With the adoption of this strategy, PSD have demonstrated leadership in promoting gender equality and improving opportunities for women’s participation in peace and security operations”.

British Ambassador Brind OBE affirmed that the United Kingdom, along with the Governments of Canada, Finland, Norway and Spain, the United Kingdom is supporting the Government of Jordan in the implementation of the JONAP through a dedicated pooled fund mechanism.

In addition to strengthening domestic violence prevention and protection mechanism at FPD, some of the key initiatives featured under the Gender Mainstreaming Strategy include the establishment of a Women’s Training Facility at PSD, and the launch of both a Women’s Leadership Program and a Talent Pipeline Program, to sustain the participation of women and to increase their promotion to senior leadership positions.

UN Women Jordan Representative Ziad Sheikh said, ‘Global evidence show that gender mainstreaming contributes to several principles of good governance of the security sector’ said Mr. Ziad Sheikh, UN Women Jordan Representative. ‘As UN Women, we commend PSD’s commitment to advance even further the principle of gender mainstreaming in its operations through the adoption of this new strategy’.

Available in Arabic here.

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