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National Summit on Gender Based Violence and Peace
Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth
Constitutional barrier to GBV cases By FAITH MUIRURI
A Constitutional provision that requires suspects to be arraigned in court within 24 hours of arrest is emerging as a major obstacle in securing convictions in GBV cases. Article 49 (f) of the Constitution limits the period within which investigations can be conducted and suspects arraigned in court. According to Mercella Wanjiru, a senior police officer, most gender based violence cases cannot be exhaustively investigated within 24 hours. This has forced police officers to arraign suspects in court before investigations are complete.
Report
According to Wanjiru, once a GBV case is reported, police officers have to conduct investigations immediately and visit the scene to find corroborating evidence. “If incriminating evidence is not found within the 24 hours, a suspect is arraigned in court. Based on the evidence adduced by the prosecution, the court decides on whether to remand the accused pending hearing of their cases or release them on bail,” Wanjiru explains. She adds: “After a suspect has appeared in court police offi-
cers are not allowed to access them again.” Wanjiru notes that most gender based violence cases are heard and concluded based on the evidence generated during the initial stages of investigations. She observes that most cases are lost due to lack of sufficient evidence to sustain a conviction. This has been blamed on shoddy investigations conducted hastily to meet the constitutional requirement. She notes that the situation has been complicated by the fact that gender based violence is grossly under-funded within the Police Department. A significant percentage of resources within the Police Service which plays critical role in the management of gender based violence cased have been channelled to specialized units such as such as the Flying Squad, Anti-Terrorism Police Unit and the Banking Fraud Unit which only serve a few individuals in the society. “This has in effect limited the capacity of police officers to respond to cases of gender based violence cases across the country,” Wanjiru explained during the National Summit on GBV and Peace. According to Wanjiru, gender based violence cases has not been
assigned any resources and police officers have to go out of their way to address cases brought to their attention.
Address
“Currently we have police officers who are facing disciplinary measures for having defied orders by their seniors to rush survivors of gender based violence to hospital,” she reveals. While police officers have to contend with constant criticism for being insensitive to the plight of GBV survivors, they are constrained by limited resources and the long chain of command. “We have been quick to blame police officers for their indifference while addressing GBV cases but there are no specific structures to aid in the management of gender violence,” says Wanjiru adding, “the working conditions are unfavourable and resources limited”. Most gender desks in police stations are manned by unqualified personnel who in most cases are reassigned other duties leaving gender violence cases unattended. Wanjiru notes: “Sometimes survivors have no one to attend to them and if they find a police officer, there is no vehicle which can be used to hasten the process of arrest
“Gender based violence turns healthy, responsible and productive people into recipients of charity and support from service providers and families. The cost of managing gender based violence remains overwhelming not only to the victims but to institutions that offer interventions and the state at large.” —Marcella Wanjiru Superintendent of Police
or rush the survivor to hospital.” According to Wanjiru, unless measures are put in place to establish a specialized gender based violence unit within the Kenya National Police Service with a dedicated rank and file, resources and if possible operational autonomy to expedite cases, then justice for gender based violence cases will remain elusive. “A GBV unit will come with increased allocations and trained personnel to manage the cases as well as offer preventive, promotive and rehabilitative services in all our counties.”
Guide
Ideally after a person reports a gender violence case, they are to be guided to a private place where interviews take place. After the interview, the investigating officer is supposed to visit the scene of crime because there may be corroborating evidence that will connect the accused person to the offence. According to Wanjiru, “if the investigating officer is not facilitated to gather incriminating evidence within the specified period, then the case is lost and it does not matter what the Prosecution says”. Her sentiments are echoed by Jebiwott Sumbeiywo Chief of Party Peace Initiative Kenya who notes that gender based violence management has been characterized by weak coordination of efforts amongst the actors and GBV responders. Sumbeiywo observes: “There is a lack of accountability and inaction amongst the duty bearers when it comes to prevention and response from the security agencies, health service providers, education sector, legal justice systems and the community.”
ISSUE 090, September 17-30, 2013
PIK elevates fighting gender based violence through peace platforms By ABISAI AMUGUNE Margaret Wanjala has turned into a peace crusader in Trans Nzoia County over the last one year. Her efforts have received a major boost from the Peace Initiative Kenya project under the International Rescue Committee (IRC) supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Her work as a peace champion has earned her recognition from her political party, Ford-Kenya, which has nominated her as a member of the Trans-Nzoia County Assembly. Although she was widowed over 15 years ago when her husband died in a grisly road accident, Wanjala could not afford to get into competitive politics due to lack of resources. She was forced to watch from the side-lines as her male counterparts scrambled for elective positions to become members of Parliament and councillors.
Crusade
Peace Initiative Kenya (PIK), was launched in October last year and worked in 18 counties that were deemed to be hotspots among them Trans-Nzoia and Mt. Elgon district in the neighbouring Bungoma County. Wanjala hoped around with the peace platforms that also targeted the protection of the rights of women and children. Wanjala was among the 14 members of the TransNzoia County Assembly who were nominated by political parties to meet the gender threshold. According to the party, her participation in the peace initiatives through a local non-governmental organisation Free Pentecostal Fellowship of Kenya (FPFK) in Trans-Nzoia West, Kwanza and Mt. Elgon districts was an eye –opener for a violence free election environment. According to Festus Mukoya, the organisation’s programme coordinator, the initiative targeted over 5,000 families ended up with a peace agreement that was witnessed by the former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka at Mabaiga, in Bungoma, in April 2012. The warring communities included Bukusus, Sabaots, Tesos and to some extent the smaller local tribes. Continued on page 7
Violence comes with heavy costs By DUNCAN MBOYAH Gender Based Violence (GBV), the harmful act that is perpetrated against a person based socially-ascribed gender difference has been on the rise amongst male and female alike. The menace is, however, believed to be caused by drunkenness, substance abuse, unemployment, poverty, families living apart as well as HIV status. Even though majority of survivors remain silent after the event, the menace has an economic impact on the government and the victims. It is noted that gender based violence turns healthy, responsible and productive people into recipients of charity and support from service providers and families. The cost of managing gender based violence remains overwhelming not only to the victims but to institutions that offer interventions and the state at large.
Cost
At the direct economic level, GBV costs money in two ways; On the one hand services that are in place for mitigating medical and psycho-social effects have a cost comparable to that of road accident victims and survivors. In both cases, a healthy population often at the prime of its productive capacity is subjected to human driven and avoidable traumatic acts that seriously interfere with their productivity. “By the time the victims undergo the event and suffer with injuries, they are forced to incur costs on medication, care and rehabilitation,” explained Betty Murungi, a Gender and Peace
at the National Summit on Gender Based Violence. She also noted that psycho-social and clinical costs in GBV adversely affect a survivor’s mental and physical health because it puts direct costs to victims from managing injuries and loss of life followed by direct loss of finances or means of getting finances. “Where the impact of the cost of GBV is visible in the micro-family level where the gap created by the unavailability of economic provider has multiplier effects on dependants who in most cases happen to be children and siblings,” Murungi noted. She reiterated that since the cost of GBV is silent and seemingly indirect to the extent that it is borne largely by individuals and families, and increasingly by civil society organisations, most of the time it goes unnoticed at a global level government revenue and expenditure level. It was noted that other costs are indeterminate because of their long term nature. Children, for instance, who grow up in violent families may suffer lifelong behavioural as well as emotional and mental health disturbances such as alcohol and drug abuse, risky sexual behaviour, and perpetration of violence for male and being victims of violence for female. All of which are attributable to exposure to violence. However, Murungi blamed lack of political will from the government through allocation of funding in policing services and creating awareness as a major obstacle to the war against gender based violence. To end or reduce gender based violence, col-
lective and coordinated efforts are need and these must be led by the government. “Lack of coordination is to blame for the escalating cases of GBV in the country,” Murungi noted.
Exist
She further blamed the existence of socio-cultural attitudes that make women and children more vulnerable. She reiterated that mechanisms should be put in place to control the behaviour. According to Murungi, widespread inequality in gender relations is to blame for fuelling violence and the solution lies on the Constitution under the supervision of the Government. Murungi observed that the Constitution has given women what they deserve and that it will be unfair to deny them their rights further as has been the case since independence. Unlike the old constitution, Kenya’s new Constitution stipulates that all holders of public A woman tries to shield herself from and elective office should not be more than two her spouse. Incidences of violence still third of the same gender. continue to rein havoc on women even as It was noted at the summit, that lack of colviolence against women is considered a lection, collation and analysis of data on gender human rights violation. based violence trends further poses a challenge Picture: Reject Correspondent to its management. “Women and girls are frequently affected Statistics on rape as well as sexual exploitation and assault exist but they are not up to date by GBV as one in two women report having experienced violence at one point in their lives,” hence the need for updated records. Murungi noted that access to justice is jeop- Murungi said. Existing data shows that gender violence starts ardized by a poorly resourced police system that lacks equipment and personnel to ensure early in the lives of girls who have to live with its that cases of GBV are acted on and prosecuted. effects for the rest of their lives.