Kathmandu, August 13

The Office of Prime Minister and Council of Ministers organised a workshop to disseminate the Standard Operating Procedure 2068 on Gender Based Violence Case Management in Kathmandu yesterday.

The SOP was prepared with support from various governmental and non-governmental institutions to effectively implement anti-GBV programmes from a human rights and survivor-oriented point of view. The procedure has been published with the objective of informing concerned stakeholder bodies and parties to facilitate its implementation.

According to a press statement, the primary objective of the workshop organised with support from CARE Nepal was to disseminate the SOP and gain feedback and support from all relevant stakeholders.

The workshop was attended by participants from various donor agencies, humanitarian organisations and government offices. It also saw officials from the Ministry of Women and Children, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Social Welfare Council and Office of Attorney General.

Responding to comments from participants, Kamal Shali Ghimire, OPMCM secretary, said the SOP would be promoted through websites and mass media. Speaking about the role of various stakeholders in implementing the SOP, he said, “The implementation of SOP is not just the responsibility of the government. Non-government organisations and other relevant entities should also support the government in its implementation”.

In the presentation provided by the OPMCM, Ramesh Dhakal, joint secretary at the OPMCM, said, “The SOP is not a law but a guiding principle, which will help the humanitarian actors and stakeholders.” Various discussions were held where majority of the participants stressed on promoting the SOP through mass media and government websites.

Popular Gentle, programme director, CARE Nepal, said, “Mainstreaming GBV activities is one of the strong focus of CARE’s business plan, and CARE will continue to support the government of Nepal in its future activities”.