Women and policing in Latin America: a revised background paper

Engendering the police in Latin America is a challenging but necessary goal to ensure women’s rights – especially the right to live without violence – and equitable democratization. Specialized police stations for women (hereafter women’s police stations or WPS) have been at the forefront of the fight against violence against women since the first WPS was founded in Brazil in 1985. Gender mainstreaming in the police is a much newer initiative but it also has important consequences for women’s exercise of their rights and, as such, their experience of and contribution to democracy.