Assistance to Women: Afghanistan

• Women’s Police Corps (WPC) and Family Response Units (FRUs): To date, 138 female police officers have participated in Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs’ (INL) women-only, basic 8-week WPC training at women-only training centers in Kabul and Jalalabad, which opened in December 2008 and December 2009, respectively. INL supports police mentors at more than 30 FRUs in ten provinces. FRUs, staffed primarily by female police officers, offer a safe place for women and families to report crime and receive mediation. FRUs collectively addressed 897 cases during 2009, up from 759 cases in 2008.
  
  
• Justice Sector Support Program (JSSP) Gender Justice: JSSP Gender Justice Advisors (GJA) conduct gender justice trainings, provide advice on draft legislation on women’s rights (including the Ending Violence Against Women law and the Shia Personal Family Law), and work to integrate a gender component into JSSP activities at large. During 2009, 219 women participated in INL-funded Justice Sector Support Program (JSSP) trainings and professional development opportunities. Of these women, 90 participated in specialized gender justice courses, along with 143 men.
  
  
• Corrections System Support Program (CSSP) Gender Justice and Women’s Prison Advisor: CSSP’s GJA works closely with the Central Prison Directorate (CPD) Headquarters to develop an overall strategy on women in prison as well as monitoring conditions and needs of women in prison nationwide and working to identify solutions for those needs. In line with CSSP advice, CPD has added an Afghan National Women’s Advocate to their Headquarters staff. CSSP also supports one mentor at Kabul Women’s Prison. 109 female corrections officers have completed the Corrections Officer’s Basic Course and 53 corrections officers have completed the specialized Women in Corrections course.
  
  
• Counter Violence Against Women: Since 2007, INL supports violence against women programs in Kabul and Kunduz, which – to date – have assisted more than 170 female survivors of violence. These projects have also trained 552 police officers, to date, on violence against women. In January 2010, INL provided equipment and supplies and detailed a full-time legal consultant to the Ministry of Women’s Affairs Legal Department, which is responsible for case management and legal and shelter referrals of female survivors of violence.
  
  
• Women Judges Legal Education Program: Since 2004, INL has supported study tours, including leadership training and court observation, to the United States for 17 women judges, including four during 2009.
  
  
• Women’s Drug Treatment: INL currently funds three residential drug treatment centers for women and adjacent centers for their children in Kabul, Balkh, and Herat. Three more treatment centers for women and their children will open in early 2010 in Farah, Nangarhar, and Badakhshan. INL trains Afghan women addiction counselors and is developing a gender-responsive substance abuse treatment curriculum.