Why LBQ Women do not Report GBV Cases vs The Role of Police in GBV Cases

On 16 days of Activism under the theme Hear me too, 3W today invited a professional legal officer Madam Grace from the Gender Based Violence Recovery Centre in Kisumu to analyse, highlight and sensitise LBQT women on the processes of dealing with violence cases from getting treatment, reporting to the authorities, the court process including victim and witness protection till justice prevails.

The issues at hand were why these cases happen everyday and most go un-reported, what is the role of police in handling violence and how are they contributing to it’s fight, how has the GBVRC one stop centre helped in the fight against gender based violence

The role of the police in cases of domestic violence and abuse is crucial, however, the LBQT women criticized them and many opined that they are the main causes of un-reported cases due to the following reasons:

• The police should remain one of the key frontline services which LBQT women can use to prevent and stop incidents of violence and abuse but getting the response they require is an uphill task as the police ask unnecessary questions that sometimes lead to re victimisation based on sexual orientation and even loss of evidence which lead to doubts as to whether th victims will get ‘justice’ or not
• Although victims might not report the cases because they do not know that what they had been subjected to was a form of  violence or sexual harassment, they feel that the police on most occasions do not recognise the kind of danger the victims are in unless it is at the point of “about to be murdered or killed”
• Kisumu police stations still do not have rapid response systems, serviceable emergency mobile phones and almost no police vehicles to transport victims or vulnerable women from the scene of crime and or from police station to a health facility
• Victims fear to report because there is very minimal protection from the perpetrators and getting court injunctions such as a non-molestation order, and putting a ‘marker’ on the house so an officer can get there as quickly as possible when called out, so it is easy to be attacked or even killed
• The few cases by LBQ women who have so far been reported  felt that police officers’ understanding of gender based violence and abuse is poor and is limited to physical abuse and a need for ‘hard evidence’, which is sometimes difficult to establish especial if there is no visible evidence especially in emotional violence cases, therefore serious threats to harm victims is treated with less seriousness
• Some women just don’t report because they are feeling ashamed and may not want to blow up the incident
• The reporting and court processes are cumbersome and take too long hence overwhelm victims who more often than not use their own resources

Madam grace instilled confidence in the LBQ women on the now one stop GBVRC that is located at JOORTH. She is personally willing to escort victims to the police stations to record statements and help follow through GBV cases to the end. Because we can not end violence by keeping quiet, she encouraged everyone to report such cases so that they can be legally dealt with. For IPV cases, victims can get help from the GBVRC for counselling and voluntary therapy every once in a while

To report GBV Cases CALL GBVRC on 0780 991102 24Hrs