Training Lahore police to safeguard the rights of transgender communities
On October 12th, VISION trained 48 police workers- 40 men and 8 women- from 15 police stations in Lahore during a one-day workshop.
Lahore’s Assistant Commissioner (AC) of police kicked off the session, welcoming team VISION and the participants to the workshop. He spoke emphatically about the importance of empowering transgender populations, a goal he said the Government of Punjab also seeks.
Representatives of Lahore’s transgender communities were invited to observe this workshop and provide feedback for future sessions.
Training Swat Police to safeguard the rights of transgender communities
On October 5th, VISION conducted a one-day police training workshop for 24 police personnel from 8 police stations in Mingora city, Swat, along with 6 Civil Defence officers from 6 posts.
Swat’s transgender community leadership were invited to observe this workshop where they met with police personnel as a group for the first time in the city’s history.
At the end of the workshop, they communicated their experiences with, and reservations regarding, police procedures directly to the participating police officers.
Training Murree Police towards awareness of transgender rights
Murree is a hill station and one of Pakistan’s popular holiday tourist destination in summer and winter.
In recent years, a large influx of transgender individuals has been observed moving into the city for economic pursuits during tourist seasons.
VISION consequently decided to train the police forces in Murree to be mindful of the rights of transgender individuals, while managing the influx during tourist seasons.
Training Multan Police regarding the rights of transgender communities
One of Pakistan’s major cities, Multan has a total of 32 police stations. 9 of these keep watch over neighbourhoods with either a relatively larger concentration of transgender residents, or spaces where transgender individuals frequently cruise or beg.
VISION conducted a one-day workshop with the Multan Police regarding the rights of transgender individuals. As with all our police training workshops, our goal was to help sensitize the police to the needs of the community, and their rights under law.
VISION thanks the local administration and the police of Multan for their cooperation.
Training Islamabad Capital Territory Police regarding rights of transgender communities
In 2019, at the request of the National Commission for Human Rights (NHCR), VISION developed a manual detailing protocols to sensitize police to the rights of transgender individuals and communities.
We then tested the effectiveness of this manual in May of 2019 by using it to train a total of 135 police personnel from 21 stations from Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT). These stations and personnels are in charge of neighbourhoods with high concentrations of female transgender residents.
The manual is designed to be used to train and sensitize additional police force as needed.
In the year and a half prior to this workshop, VISION’s team and the organization’s previous work helped local policy makers understand the various challenges facing female transgender populations in Pakistan. This has led to greater sensitivity in civic organizations to female transgender issues, resulting in transgender-friendly policies.
The Punjab Social Protection Authority (PSPA) has put together a comprehensive policy document in consultation with VISION and other civil society organizations. The PSPA plans to implement this policy through the different mechanisms available to it.
Early indication show that the remaining provinces, Sindh, Baluchistan, Khyber Pakhtoon Kha (KPK) and Gilgit Baltistan (GB), may also choose to replicate these policy changes in the future.