Unscr 1325 and Gender-Responsive Security Sector Reforms in the Nigeria Police Force: Milestones, Challenges and Opportunities

Adopted in October 2000, the UNSCR 1325 is the ground breaking resolution on Women, Peace and Security (WPS). UNSCR 1325 emphasizes the need to acknowledge and mainstream gender into the security sector by recognizing the differential impacts of armed conflicts on men and women. Since the adoption of UNSCR 1325, there has been some progress in implementing the Nigeria National Action Plan (NAP) on WPS. For instance, it has led to the establishment of a multi-sectoral National Steering Committee, which coordinates the implementation of the NAP across government ministries and agencies. While the Nigeria Police Force was the first to domesticate the National Gender Policy in 2010, other security sector institutions have since keyed into this process.

The study examined the structural and operational reforms in the Nigeria police force, following the adoption of the gender policy in 2010. The survey covered the six geo-political zones of Nigeria and adopted a variety of mixed methods for data collection. The instruments used for data collection were gender audit questionnaires, semi-structured questionnaires, facility assessment questionnaire, key informant interviews and focus-group discussions.

The study discovered that while the adoption of the police gender policy has led to certain structural and operational changes in the Nigerian Police Force, a system-wide institutional reforms on gender mainstreaming envisaged in the policy has not materialized. The policy was never domesticated or used as a frame of reference within the Police Force Act, Regulations, Force Orders and Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). The paper argues that while patriarchal norms, weak capacity for gender mainstreaming and inadequate funding were some of the constraints to gender-responsive reforms in the Nigeria Police Force, collaborations between international development partners and local NGOs provide huge prospects for gender mainstreaming in the Nigeria Police Force