Training Courses for Community Paralegals
Within the frame work of the project action, FHRI is implementing an initiative to train community paralegals in hopes of increasing on the number of cadres with the ability to monitor, document and report gender based violence in the communities. In fact the imminent need for trained paralegals was brought to the surface by the findings of the baseline survey on human rights and gender based violence that had been conducted in each of the six districts targeted for the project action.
Under the project, the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative conducted training courses for Community paralegals at the rate of 45 participants per district in Kiboga District (1st-7th August 2009), Lira (30th August – 5th Sept 2009), Kasese (30th August – 5th Sept 2009), Kalangala (20th – 26th Sept. 2009), Busia (20th – 26th Sept. 2009) and Sembabule (11th – 17th October 2009).
The training participants among others, constituted members of FHRI’s Community Based Partner Organisations, opinion leaders at the grass root community level, local council leaders, JLOS officials, community facilitators and the media. They were grounded in effective means of promoting and protecting women’s human rights, children’s rights, the basic human rights principles, succession and inheritance, land rights for women, redress mechanisms for victims of GBV and the effective means of building strategic partnerships for sustainable legal redress for victims of GBV.
Key outcomes of the training workshops include; increased knowledge of the basic law, increased knowledge of women and children’s rights, improved skills on how to handle cases of gender based violence, a reduced gap between institutions of justice and the community and a better relationship between the two as a means to effectively handle GBV cases. In total, 270 Community members were trained, tremendously increasing on the number of cadres that can offer legal first aid to impoverished women and children in the communities and replicate the knowledge and skills to other community members, leading to increased human rights and GBV awareness.
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