Meet Isobel Anderson
I was born and raised in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe Africa; I have been living and working in Ottawa for the past 22 years. I began my policing career with the British South Africa Police, in a segregated Rhodesia known now as Zimbabwe, at that time there were two rank structures, one for whites and one for blacks.
In 1979 I became the first black person to join the white ranks in Rhodesia. Almost overnight a raging civil war between the Rhodesian regime and black freedom fighters began. I went from doing regular police work to fighting for my life. During that time I was one of the youngest officers promoted to the rank of sergeant, I realized then that I wanted to make a difference in people’s lives.
After the war ended I realized that it would take a while for the changes I longed to see, so we began the application process to immigrate to Canada. My desire was to raise my children in a land where they could be whatever they chose to be, regardless of their race. We arrived in Ottawa in the summer of 1989.
I had longed for the policing career I had left behind in Zimbabwe, so I found myself in the recruitment office of the Ottawa Police Service.
I have worked in different areas such as Patrol, Domestic Violence, Youth Section, Temporary Custody and Detention, Diversity and Race Relations, and as a leader of a platoon. Until recently I was seconded to the Canadian Police College where I spent two years as a coordinator/facilitator on the Senior Police Administration Course, a leadership course which introduces middle managers into conceptual and strategic leadership. In the third year of my secondment I was promoted into the management position, overseeing the operations of the section. I am currently the Officer in Charge of the Partner Assault Unit (Domestic Violence).
The reason I do all this is because I believe that to police effectively it is crucial to have a relationship with the community. I have served on various boards of directors such as the Ontario Women in Law; Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization, and Leadership Ottawa. I am currently assisting the Zero Force Child Soldier Initiative in one of the planned activities.
I am very passionate about capacity building especially as it relates to women and youth, I believe that in order to influence others, I have to role model the behaviours I desire to see and, that to effect change, I cannot merely sit on the sidelines and complain, I have to get involved.
I have seen the direct benefits of the SGBV course; I maintain contact with some course participants who are eager to share their experiences and how they are working on initiatives and empowering colleagues and locals in mission. Some of the participants share with me that the skills they learn on the course are put to good use when they get back to their countries. The return on investment is huge.
One thing I would like presenters of this conference to take away is that sexual and gender-based violence is our collective responsibility and that together we can work on ways to reduce and eliminate it.
Isobel Anderson has been part of our Community of Experts since 2006. She has travelled to various countries in Africa with the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre to design, develop and deliver pre-deployment training for United Nations police officers. In recent years, she has concentrated on training for sexual gender-based violence to personnel in peace operations.
