Delano Christopher, Commissioner of Police,Caribbean region Source: Caribbean Net News

The appointment of the first female Commissioner of Police for the entire Caribbean region in May 2005 should be reason enough to celebrate. But Delano Christopher of Antigua and Barbuda is being confronted with mixed reactions. While her appointment may have been welcomed in some quarters, disturbing news reports have pointed to fears among many about the police department turning into a "petticoat force". The truth is that the presence of women in a macho and male dominated organisation like the police is a delicate issue not only in the Caribbean but also in large parts of the Commonwealth despite gender equality being one of the fundamental principles. In 1995, the Commonwealth Secretariat introduced a gender mainstreaming approach into its plan of action. The Fifth Meeting of Commonwealth Ministers Responsible for Women's Affairs (5WAMM), held in 1996, envisaged the presence of least 30 % of women in decision-making processes including politics and the public and private sector. The ground realities, at least in the case of the police - which remains perhaps one of the most poorly gender balanced public services across the Commonwealth - fails to reflect this resolve. South Africa is the only country that has striven to provide 30 % female representation in law enforcement. With 28.6 % females in the force, South Africa Police has the highest representation of women in the police worldwide. Other parts of the Commonwealth unfortunately fail to replicate this example. Female representation is shockingly low in India, 2%, Solomon Islands, 6.2%, Canada, 11.2%, Sierra Leone, 13.% and Cyprus 13.8%. Northern Ireland, 16.5%, Jamaica 17.8% and Australia, 20.9 % fare a little better but fail to come anywhere near the minimum stipulation of 30%.

The ground realities, at least in the case of the police - which remains perhaps one of the most poorly gender balanced public services across the Commonwealth - fail to reflect this resolve. South Africa is the only country that has striven to provide 30 % female representation in law enforcement. With 28.6 % females in the force, South Africa Police has the highest representation of women in the police worldwide. Other parts of the Commonwealth unfortunately fail to replicate this example. Female representation is shockingly low in India, 2%, Solomon Islands, 6.2%, Canada, 11.2%, Sierra Leone, 13.% and Cyprus 13.8%. Northern Ireland, 16.5%, Jamaica 17.8% and Australia, 20.9 % fare a little better but fail to come anywhere near the minimum stipulation of 30%.

This uneven gender balance has had an adverse effect of alienating women from the police perceived as a male dominated and patriarchal force. Victims of sexual or domestic violence - who are most often female - feel uncomfortable in reporting crimes to a predominantly male police force. Just the fact that women make up the other half of the population is reason enough for them to get equal representation in law enforcement. Modern policing no longer entails overwhelming reliance on just physical strength - it demands communication skills to maintain peace, law and order, an ability quite reliably accredited to women. A study by the US based National Center for Women and Policing in 2003 found that female officers were better equipped than their male counterparts in gaining the trust of the community because of their tendency to use lesser violence in addressing crime.

The Commonwealth has clearly acknowledged the positive role of women in establishing and securing democracy and peace as is evident in the Commonwealth Plan of Action 1995. An essential function of the police is to protect democratic structures and to guarantee peace and security. Therefore the increase of women's participation in the field of law enforcement should be a crucial objective to all members of the Commonwealth. This objective must also be tempered with the will to progressively increase the representation of women in higher ranks.

The extent of the problem was revealed in a study conducted with focus groups of the Australian Federal Police. One of the disturbing revelations was that chances of being promoted differed according to one's gender. Participants were asked what male and female officers had to do in order to be successful. The most frequently given answer was that, "for a man to succeed he had to perform, work hard and be competent whereas a woman had not only to work twice as harder, but be bigger, better, brighter and more beautiful."

An argument that is often advanced is that women themselves do not desire to join the police because of late and unspecified hours, continuous exposure to danger and apprehensions of failing as an ideal homemaker. While this might be the case for some, generalising the phenomenon negates the efforts put in by women who are willing to take that extra bit of risk. Governments are required to make policing an attractive career option to women who don't mind those late hours and the unconventional life led by police personnel. The Home Office in the U.K. launched the "Could You" national recruitment campaign in 2001 to boost the entry of women into the police. As part of the campaign, advertisements that demystified the recruitment criteria were published in the national press and in women's magazines. In Australia, women police associations have helped in sparking an interest in the profession. The Australian Council of Women and Policing publishes a free guide for women who are considering police as a career or for those who have recently joined the force.

Despite the existence of these initiatives, a lot more remains to be done. Traditional beliefs about policing being a man's job or the paranoia of being labeled a petticoat force cannot be allowed to stifle women from assuming their rightful position in public services such as the police.

Lena Gond
Ex-intern CHRI