The mindset of police personnel must be reformed to ensure that cases involving women and children are dealt in a sensitive manner.

Employing more women in the police force will not resolve gender bias, said Women's Development Council (WDC) executive director Maria Chin Abdullah.

"I'm not sure if more women (in the police force) will make any difference. Some women are not any different than men. Women in the front desk should be more sensitive when receiving reports," she said when contacted yesterday.

She was commenting on the feedback and recommendations compiled in the 607-page Report of the Royal Commission to Enhance the Operation and Management of the Royal Malaysian Police that took 18 months to complete.

The report which was made available to the public on Monday consists of 125 recommendations to enhance the operations of the force, which has come under heavy criticism over the past few years.

The report was drawn up by a team of commissioners led by former chief justice Mohd Dzaiddin Abdullah, following extensive gathering of feedback on the state of police operations.

Maria said both men and women police personnel should be educated and trained to be more gender sensitive, particularly when dealing with domestically abused or sexually violated women.

"It's the mindset. How they (police officers) view women has to be changed," she stressed.

She also expressed disappointment that the commission had failed to tackle the issue of rape and pointed out that there have been many cases where women detainees had been allegedly raped in lock-ups.

Women detainees

Labour organisation Tenaganita director Irene Fernandez said the report could have emphasised more on issues concerning women and children.

"There has never been strong recommendations particularly in protection for abused women and sexually violated women," she added when contacted today.

She said there should be a recommendation to put in place a protective mechanism for women detainees.

Measures should be taken so that women feel safe and protected while changing, particularly when they were having menstruation, she added.

"It would be good to look into setting up police stations that were manned entirely by women personnel so that they could deal with women and child issues, as done in other countries," she said.

Fernandez said women should also be given more opportunities for promotion in the police force.

On the protection of children, the activist was concerned why the report did not focus on matters relating to children under remand.

She suggested that parents should be given immediate access to these children. She also expressed concern that children between the ages of 11 and16 were often treated as adults, saying that it is wrong to do so.

Child-care centres

Meanwhile, Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) women's wing chairperson Noorlaila Aslah said the needs of female police personnel should not be neglected.

"Their health and safety aspects should be emphasised," she said, adding that they should not be allowed to perform strenuous tasks during ante-natal or post-natal and pregnancy.

Noorlaila said the police force should also cater for the needs of its women personel's children, such as the setting up of child care centres at police quarters.

"With the long, unpredictable hours, this can ensure that their children too are safe," she said, adding that such incentives would also encourage more women to join the force.