1 400 rapes reported a year
WINDHOEKELVIS MURARANGANDA
Nearly 50 men are reporting rape or attempted rape cases every year, and along with the more than 1 350 female victims, they face an unfriendly justice system that includes a lack of doctors, counselling and an unsympathetic police service.
Last year, 16 adult men and 27 boys under the age of 18 reported rapes, out of the annual total of 1 397 cases reported to the police.
Also, about five years ago 28% of the men who took part in a survey conducted in eight Namibian regions reported that they had experienced physical or sexual violence at the hands of an intimate partner.
These startling figures were revealed in the latest Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) report, which is urging the police's Woman and Child Protection Units (WCPUs) to implement more victim-friendly services for the more than 1 200 annual rape or attempted rape victims.
The Khomas unit currently handles between 200 and 250 criminal cases each month, and another 250 to 300 cases which do not result in criminal charges of violence, the report states.
However, the human rights organisation feels that limited opening hours at the units, limited availability of emergency staff contact details, limited access to the centres' services and a shortage of staff hamper the efficiency of these units.
“The demand for services from the units is substantial and growing. There is an urgent need to re-evaluate and improve the operation of WCPUs,” it suggests.
Shockingly, 14 out of 15 WCPUs rarely have permanent social workers or medical doctors specifically attached to those units. The units have to take victims to casualty departments at State hospitals to be examined, “where the confidentiality and sensitivity is compromised”.
By July this year, the Khomas unit located at the Katutura State Hospital was staffed by 18 police officers, three permanent social workers, two social work interns and two doctors residing at the hospital. The two doctors are not available all the time though, since they work for the hospital.
The report recommends that the national budget should make provision for the funding of the units; reliable and efficient data collection as well as round-the-clock operating hours including after-hours and emergency services.
“Complaints are still being received about people receiving an unsympathetic police response when attending WCPU after incidents of rape or domestic violence.”
To this, the report suggests that police and other staff at the units receive the correct training to deal with victims in a sympathetic manner.
The WCPUs currently only deal with cases of rape, sexual violence or very serious physical assaults (where the person is hospitalised), the report states. All other domestic violence cases are referred to regular police stations.
Apparently, this is confusing and the result is that people in crisis may be sent back and forth, possibly losing the will to seek help in the process.
The LAC's coordinator for gender research and advocacy, Dianne Hubbard, says this inefficiency and unsympathetic response has greatly contributed to the low conviction rate in rape cases.
“The current conviction rate stands at 16% mainly because some victims prefer solving the matter the traditional way outside court because they are frustrated by not getting the help they need,” says Hubbard.
She adds that the current specialised victim-friendly facilities at the courts are not being fully utilised to ease the emotional and psychological impact on victims during court proceedings.
“This is because there is a lack of clarity as to who must suggest the usage of these facilities during the court proceedings,” Hubbard explains.
But she rules out suggestions of a specialised court to deal with rape and sexual violence cases, saying the current court system should rather be improved.
“Our volume of rape and or attempted rape cases is not that high to merit a special court. Maybe if the magistrate's court is divided into two sections, dealing with criminal and civil matters separately, that could work.”
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