Human rights activists have called for an amendment to the Sexual Offences Act, 2006, to remove discriminatory provisions that deny survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) access to justice.
Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) on Tuesday advocated the removal of medical reports as evidence in prosecuting SGBV cases committed during conflicts. The organisation launched its report on sexual violence during elections in Kenya, at a Nairobi hotel.
“Doctors’ strike coincided with the 2017 repeat presidential elections which made survivors of sexual violence unable to acquire medical reports that would prove the cases,” said Irene Soila, KHRC political pluralism and diversity programme advisor.
Worrying trend
From the report, a comparative analysis of the violence perpetrated during the 2007, 2013 and 2017 general elections pointed to SGBV as a major election-related violence in Kenya.
The report, informed by a fact-finding mission jointly done by KHRC and the International Federation for Human Rights in Kisumu, Migori and Vihiga counties, after the 2017 election violence, reveals a worrying trend even as the country nears the August 9 polls.
The 79 women interviewed in the regions indicated a prevalence of SGBV during elections.
In 2017, for instance, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) documented at least 201 cases of sexual violence, comprising gang rapes, thereby concluding that sexual violence was the second most occurring form of election-related violence, after physical injuries.
In 2007/08 election period, 900 cases of sexual violence were captured by the Commission of Inquiry into the Post-Election Violence.
No clinic services
“I could not access medical examination after being raped during the contested December 2007 election because there was curfew and the health officers were not at the clinic, ’said co-founder of Grace Agenda, Jacqueline Mutere.
For her, reparations by the State would enable survivors of post-poll sexual violence to heal.
A Post-Rape Care (PRC) form, filled by a doctor, a clinical officer, or nurse upon examining a survivor head-to-toe, is a crucial piece of document produced in court as evidence.
Without it, a healthcare provider cannot fill the Kenya Police Medical Examination P3 Form. The P3 is filled by a healthcare provider and a police officer as evidence that violence has occurred. It serves as a link between the health sector and the Judiciary.
As per the National Guidelines on Management of Sexual Violence in Kenya, the medical officer who fills the P3 form testifies in as an expert witness and is expected to produce a PRC form as an exhibit.
Section 35(6) of the Sexual Offences Act warrants the use of all medical records relating to treatment of a survivor as evidence in court. BY DAILY NATION