Vulnerable groups

• Youth-specific vulnerabilities

  In post-conflict areas, opportunities for education and employment are often limited. This can lead to feelings of hopelessness, particularly for the younger population. For many youth and children around the world, being homeless is a result of conflict, making them extremely vulnerable. As a result, they may be stigmatised, chased, or beaten, either randomly or in a targeted way. It is also important to understand that conflict affects boys and girls differently.

  Youth:
  The concept of youth can be understood as a period of transition from childhood (associated with schooling and dependence upon others) to adulthood (associated with working and providing for others – especially family members). Although youth should be considered a fluid category rather than an age-fixed group, ICT4COP has (for the purpose of methodological transparency) decided to operate with a youth category encompassing all people from age 15-30.

  Enduring poverty and lack of economic prospects also leave youth vulnerable to taking up criminal activities as a livelihood strategy. When the social fabric of society is broken down due to conflict, youth are more easily recruited into criminal groups and drug trafficking. In addition to providing an income, membership in organized crime groups can provide protection and safety, as well as an important sense of belonging and identity. Youth may also cope with their situation by migrating, and/or by using drugs, which may lead to further insecurities.

  The following digital story provides illustrating examples:

  There is Nothing Here (Kosovo) - Narrated by Fabienne Coenders

  Another coping strategy may be radicalization. Rather than assuming radicalization to be solely a result of religious extremism, it can also come from socio-economic disparities and political marginalization.

  In 2015, the United Nations Security Council adopted a historic resolution on youth, peace and security. The resolution is an important legal framework, recognizing the impact conflicts have on the lives of young people, the need to prevent the negative effects of conflict on young people and the active involvement of young people in shaping lasting peace, justice and reconciliation. The resolution may be used to raise awareness of the vulnerability of youth in post-conflict situations, as well as their important role in peace and reconciliation. Read more about the UNSC Resolution 2250.

  Promising practices of working with youth:
  In Afghanistan, Police-e-Mardumi (COP) councils in police districts have regular meetings with youth to discuss the challenges they face. Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) working with different youth programs, co-operate with the police to help build good relations by involving them in their activities. For example, through their scout programs the NGO PARSA provides an alternative for youth who are in danger of falling into extremism. NGOs also work closely with COP councils.

  In Pakistan, Police Liaison Councils (PLCs) established in 10 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province interact with youth once a month. An important arena for interaction is through sports and games. These interactions allow both police and youth to take up their worries and concerns. However, it is a challenge to include girls in these councils due to cultural reasons.

  In Kosovo, an Education Information Management System has been introduced to improve the systematic handling – and prevention – of school violence. The system provides a protocol for identifying and clarifying duties, roles and procedures for prevention, data collection and reporting of violence against children in school. Read more about our youth-specific work package.

• Gender-specific vulnerabilities

  The disproportionate and unique impact of armed conflict on women is firmly established in the United Nations Security Council Resolutions on Women, Peace and Security – Resolutions 1325 and 1820. These two resolutions have become standard principles in UN-led post-conflict reform processes. They recognize the need of special protection of women and girls, training of troops on prevention and reporting on sexual violence, and for the equal participation of women, including increasing the number of women in the police. Read more here.

  It is well known that rape has been used as a weapon of war. Gender-based violence is however more than rape. It includes:

  • Sexual harassment, sexual abuse, forced pregnancies or prostitution
  • Domestic violence: physical, sexual, psychological harm inflicted by family members or intimate partners, or economic (for instance denying women access to resources)
  • Traditional harmful practices: female genital mutilation, honor killings, dowry related violence
  • Human trafficking

  While gender-based violence happens in all types of societies, the risk of it increases during and after a conflict. Women also report being extra vulnerable to domestic and sexual violence and harassment in public space and at night; and during harvest and festive seasons when money is available and the consume of alcohol may increase. The absence of effective law enforcement as a consequence of war may also open up for trafficking activities led by criminal networks.

  Although women are seen as the victims and men as the perpetrators of GBV, there are high levels of unreported cases in which men are among the abused. There is indeed a high level of unreported cases of male abuses. Cases against men are often not taken seriously by the police, and male victims are often ridiculed. The LGBTI community and the more overall transgender community is also very much subject to this type of violence. For more information, watch this digital story:

  Reporting Gender-Based Violence (Pakistan) - Narrated by Abda Khalid

  Inadequate reporting and handling of gender-based violence is a major problem. First, not all GBV offences fall under criminal codes, and thus may not be reported to the police at all. Secondly, the reporting procedure is lengthy, and there is often a lack of female officers to handle the victims. Even in places with suitable formal procedures, GBV is considered a taboo and victims risk being further violated and abused, and even raped, when reporting a case at the police station. In many places, domestic violence is regarded as a family matter, and an abused woman may be convinced to reconcile with her husband, rather than register a criminal case. Learn more in this digital Story:

  A Tale of Invisibility (El Salvador) - Narrated by Erika Rojas

  Fighting Gender Based Violence is a serious challenge that needs to be addressed at various levels:

  • On an individual level, survivors need to be aware of their rights and have the confidence to report a case.
  • On a relational level, survivors need to have support from their family/larger community.
  • On a structural level, suitable laws and support services need to be in place, and survivors need to have access to these services to ensure their rights are protected, including their confidentiality

   
  Dealing with GBV requires a multisectoral approach, where police, health and education department and civil society activists and organizations work together to ensure effective response and prevention. Since these issues are sensitive, trust-building and confidentiality between the different actors involved is paramount.

  Finally, women and men in post-conflict settings may also be vulnerable to different types of insecurities. Men may be more subject to physical violence and threats than women, as well as extra vulnerable to mental problems and stress. This may be due to having taken part in the fighting or to social expectations of having to provide for family members when livelihoods may have been lost. Men are generally also more vulnerable than women to drug abuse. Read more about our gender-focused work package.

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Efforts to implement Community Oriented Policing should include special consideration of the most vulnerable groups in society. The composition and visibility of such groups may vary depending upon historical, political and social context, and it is not uncommon that minorities suffer discrimination and lack of recognition of basic rights. Additionally, they report more frequent experiences of harassment, hate crimes, and difficulties accessing social services. Yet, these experiences of violence may remain ‘invisible’ in peoples’ general conceptions of crime and violence.

A mapping of vulnerable groups should consider the following:

First, the existence of potential invisible groups in society, as we see in the example from El Salvador through the criminalization of the LGBTI community.

Second, the mapping should consider what makes each group vulnerable – the sources of insecurity and vulnerability. What are the actors and situations that bring about this vulnerability?

For certain groups in society, the police may constitute a source insecurity rather than a service of protection. 

In the case of El Salvador, we saw that this is so for members of the LGBTI community. Youth, women, and other minorities are also particularly vulnerable.

Youth are frequently regarded (and treated) as potential perpetrators of crimes. This increases their vulnerability to police brutality. Refer to the Youth section above.

Research shows that victims of gender-based violence who try to report the case or seek protection after an attack often experience additional verbal and sexual abuse (including rape) from police officers. Refer to the Gender section above.

The police may also be politicized and used by a political elite to repress/discriminate against certain groups in societies. This may include individuals from the political? opposition, as well as ethic, religious, sexual minorities.

Third, the mapping must reflect an awareness of the interconnected nature of different social categorizations and vulnerabilities. For example, our research from Kenya has shown that young men in Muslim-majority areas often are accused of having association with terrorist groups. They are therefore more at risk to extrajudicial killings, unlawful detention and arrests. Similarly, young females are particularly vulnerable in conflict and post-conflict settings. The phenomenon of belonging to multiple minorities or vulnerable groups is known as “intersectionality”.

Identifying vulnerable groups is often difficult, as they are already marginalized in society and their situation may not be well understood by the local police, or even recognized by community leaders.  One strategy to overcome this is to seek out other government departments or Civil Society Organizations working with vulnerable groups to get information and advice while simultaneously building trust.