Skip to content

EpiC Blog

PEPFAR, USAID, MOSAIC
  • Home
  • About
  • Events
  • Resources
    • Social and Behavior Change
    • Mental Health and Psychosocial Support
  • COVID-19
  • Follow Us
Search
START TYPING AND PRESS ENTER TO SEARCH
  • Home
  • About
  • Events
  • Resources
    • Social and Behavior Change
    • Mental Health and Psychosocial Support
  • COVID-19
  • Follow Us

Police become allies in protecting key populations

January 21, 2020

Rafaela Egg, LINKAGES Angola

This blog post was originally published here on Management Sciences for Health’s website.


1

In 2017, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as a principal recipient of Global Fund (GF) funding for HIV at the request of the Government of Angola, approached MSH, the implementer of LINKAGES, with an offer to complement the minimum service package for female sex workers (FSW) in Luanda Province. Based on unmet need, it was agreed that with complementary funding from UNDP/GF, MSH would: 1) integrate gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and care to the existing HIV service package delivered at hot spots; 2) adapt the training methodology on law enforcement from LINKAGES to train police chiefs and officers; and 3) work with FSWs to introduce empowerment and rights-based approaches into their trainings.

It was in this context that MSH’s local partner, the Associação de Solidariedade & Ajuda Mútua (ASCAM), met with municipal and district police commands to discuss topics such as HIV, the link between HIV and violence, human rights, and how power imbalance contributes to assault against key populations.

After the trainings, female sex workers reported that they felt more protected by police in areas where the sensitizations took place: “They don’t bother us,” said an FSW. “I heard from a police officer that they know we are just doing our work, which is not a crime.”

2

In October 2018, for example, ASCAM was conducting training at the Futungo District Police Station in Talatona Municipality when the commander said he knew of some nearby hot spots that were unknown to ASCAM. The police and ASCAM visited the hot spots and ASCAM found a large number of sex workers who had never received HIV services.

During the prevention and rapid HIV testing services that ASCAM offered, nine sex workers were identified as HIV positive. Subsequently, ASCAM outreach workers supported them to begin antiretroviral treatment (ART) at public health facilities. Eight of them began ART.

The experience with Futungo District police shows that sensitized police are a key player in the fight against HIV and providing protection for key populations.

Since 2017, ASCAM held meetings with police in the municipalities of Cazenga, Cacuaco, Kilamba Kiaxi, Viana, Luanda and Talatona, sensitizing 523 police officers.

By September 2019, a total of 24,975 female sex workers at food trucks, bars, on the street, and in brothels in Luanda Province had received ASCAM services. ASCAM identified 982 cases of HIV, and 80 percent went on to receive ART. At least 355 assaults were documented and referred to Mulheres Abençoadas, the psychosocial empowerment and support group that MSH and ASCAM created with sex workers.

The Linkages across the Continuum of HIV Services for Key Populations Affected by HIV (LINKAGES) project, a global cooperative agreement led by FHI 360, was implemented in Angola by MSH in partnership with civil society organizations (CSOs), government stakeholders, and key population (KP) individuals, with support from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). 

ASCAM envisions an Angola where everyone has the opportunity to live a healthy life, to feel integrated into society, and to have a voice. It was founded in Luanda in 1989 to promote the improvement of the physical, intellectual, social, and moral conditions necessary for human development. 

Share this:

  • Tweet

Post navigation

Previous

Everyone deserves to live free of violence: How HIV and GBV service integration can improve lives and effectively address twin epidemics

Next

Local partner profile: House of our Pride, Eswatini’s first LGBTQ organization

Archives

Search by Category

Recent Publications

  • EpiC HIV Factsheet
  • EpiC COVID-19 Factsheet

Get Subscribed

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts.

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Follow Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Link

This blog is managed by the EpiC project and dedicated to sharing stories, events, and resources from HIV epidemic control efforts around the world.

© EpiC BLOG 2022

  • Home
  • About
  • Events
  • Resources
  • COVID-19
  • Follow Us
Assessment

A questionnaire or “screener” meant to be used with individual patients in a clinical setting to screen for, help diagnose, or monitor progress for individual mental health conditions.

Intervention

Larger packages or broader-reaching resources that describe actions or activities to be implemented. These may be appropriate for individuals, groups, and/or programs.

Anxiety

Feelings of fear, dread, and uneasiness that may occur as a reaction to stress. Anxiety can be a symptom or a feeling; it can also be a clinical diagnosis of a mental health condition.

Burnout

A state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress, typically related to one’s work, that is not managed well. Burnout is considered an occupational phenomenon.

Clinical diagnoses

Mental or neuropsychiatric disorders, or disruptive, unusual, or maladaptive behaviors that have been evaluated and diagnosed by a trained medical professional.

Depression

A mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest.

Disability

A physical or mental condition that limits a person’s movements, senses, or activities.

Insomnia

A sleep disorder, or disordered sleep pattern, characterized by trouble falling and/or staying asleep.

Overall well-being

The state of being comfortable, healthy, or happy; judging one’s own life positively; generally, “feeling good.”

Post-traumatic stress (PTS)

A normal adaptive response to traumatic or stressful life events that can result in a wide range of distressing symptoms. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) differs from PTS and is a clinical diagnosis.

Self-efficacy

An individual’s belief in their capacity to act in the ways necessary to reach specific goals.

Self-harm/suicidality

Deliberate injury to oneself as an emotional coping mechanism, ranging from cutting oneself to suicide. Expressions of self-harm and/or suicidality are usually considered an emergency and should be assessed and managed by a trained professional.

Social support

The perception that one is cared for, has assistance available if needed, and that one is part of a supportive social network.

Stress

Any type of change to one’s internal or external environment that causes physical, emotional, or psychological strain. “Managing stress” is an effort to return from this state of strain or disturbance to homeostasis or well-being.

Substance abuse

Use of a substance (usually drugs or alcohol) in amounts or by methods that are harmful to oneself or others. Substance use disorder (SUD) and addiction are distinct clinical diagnoses.

Trauma

Lasting biopsychosocial and/or emotional response that often results from experiencing a terrible event such as an accident, crime, military combat, or natural disaster, or a series of chronic traumatic events like persistent abuse or neglect.

Program beneficiary

Individual who receives program services; an entire group or population may be the recipient of services.

Service provider

Individual who directly provides services to another individual, group, or population (the “program beneficiary”) through a program.

Privacy Policy