Who we are
Jane Townsley
GCG Consortium · Member record
United Kingdom
Tab 01 · Profile
Profile
Senior Police Advisor to UN Women's headquarters in New York, where she led the development and worldwide rollout of the Handbook on Gender Responsive Police Services for Women and Girls Subject to Violence. Former President of the International Association of Women Police and now Chair of its Board of Trustees, she advises on gender-responsive policing and police reform after a 30-year policing career with Lincolnshire Police and British Transport Police, and has delivered training and mentoring across four continents.
Since 2014 Jane has worked internationally as a consultant with Force International, advising UN Women, UNODC, the OSCE, DCAF and national governments on gender-responsive policing and police reform. As Senior Police Advisor at UN Women's headquarters in New York she led the development and global rollout of the Handbook on Gender Responsive Police Services for Women and Girls Subject to Violence. She also co-developed Gender Agenda International, which helps organisations write and act on gender equality plans against the Sustainable Development Goals. Her assignments have spanned Egypt, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Kosovo, Albania, Georgia, Ukraine, Ghana and Namibia, with keynote addresses from Abu Dhabi to the UK Parliament's Modern Slavery Project.
Jane led the International Association of Women Police as President from 2009 to 2015 – an organisation with members in more than 70 countries – served as its Executive Director from 2018 to 2024 and now chairs its Board of Trustees. Her publications include the UN Women Handbook, a co-authored article on gender-responsive security sector reform in the Journal of Global Security Studies and a chapter in Routledge's Towards Culturally Safe Criminal Justice Systems. She holds a Bachelor of Science, a Master of Science in Security, Conflict & International Development from the University of Leicester, awarded with merit, and a Certificate in Terrorism Studies from St Andrews University.
Tab 02 · Areas of expertise
Areas of expertise
- Gender-responsive policing Senior Police Advisor to UN Women's New York headquarters; co-author and delivery lead for the UN Women Handbook on Gender Responsive Police Services for Women and Girls Subject to Violence, from development through to worldwide rollout.
- Police training & capacity building Designed and delivered police training and training-of-trainers on behalf of UN Women, UNODC, OSCE and DCAF across Egypt, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Kosovo, Albania, Georgia, Ghana, Namibia and Ukraine.
- Security sector reform Advises on gender capacity building within security sector reform and transitional justice in post-conflict environments, including women's networks for Georgia's Ministries of Defence and Internal Affairs; published co-author on gender-responsive security sector reform.
- Violence against women & girls response Development of global guidance and national training on effective police responses to violence against women and girls, from first-responder curricula for police academies to work with the agencies supporting Rohingya refugees at Cox's Bazar.
- Leadership & mentoring President of the International Association of Women Police 2009 – 2015 and now Chair of its Board of Trustees; experienced mentor to women in policing across the UK, Western Balkans, Kyrgyzstan, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
Tab 03 · Service record
Service record
- 2014 – present Consultant, Force International Limited International advisory and training on gender-responsive policing across challenging environments; co-developed the Gender Agenda International initiative (2015 – present) providing strategy development and action planning against the Sustainable Development Goals.
- 2021 – present Senior Police Advisor, UN Women HQ, New York (VAWG section) Development, pilot and global rollout of the Handbook on Gender Responsive Police Services for Women and Girls Subject to Violence, with technical support to UN Women country offices and national rule-of-law partners; represented UN Women HQ on gender-responsive policing at the 2025 EEA strategy meeting.
- 2018 – 2024 Executive Director, International Association of Women Police Led the association's executive function; now Chair of the IAWP Board of Trustees.
- 2015 – 2024 Advisor & Trainer for UNODC, OSCE, UN Women and DCAF Police training and training-of-trainers on responses to violence against women and girls in Egypt, Cambodia and Bangladesh; operational command training for women officers in Kosovo and Albania; women's networks for Georgia's Ministries of Defence and Internal Affairs; leadership training from Ghana to the Western Balkans.
- 2009 – 2015 President, International Association of Women Police Led an organisation with members in more than 70 countries, advocating for women's role in police and security institutions and for victim services to women and girls.
- 1986 – 2013 Policing service, Lincolnshire Police and British Transport Police A policing career spanning 30 years before moving into international consultancy.
Tab 04 · Consortium delivery