Fida: Police have failed victims of femicide, partner violence
Crime scene. Cases of femicide have been on the rise..
What you need to know:
- Federation also cited victim-blaming as one of the hindrances to justice for victims.
- Officials listed highly publicised cases that have not been concluded.
The Federation of Women Lawyers (Fida) Kenya has expressed concern about long-standing failure of the National Police Service (NPS) to bring perpetrators of violence to account following rising cases of femicide.
Speaking at their offices in Nairobi on Tuesday, Fida Executive Director Anne Ireri expressed concern that security agencies do not take reports of intimate partner violence (IPV) and femicide seriously.
“We have measures such as fingerprint taking by the police but that has not even helped to arrest the perpetrators.
"If we could have a database of sexual offenders so that the police and citizens can track such people.
"Perpetrators of sexual violence are likely to reoffend, we have all these provisions in law, but our security apparatus is not taking them seriously,” she said.
Ms Ireri also cited victim-blaming as one of the hindrances to justice for victims.
“It does not matter whether you were in your house, whether you had gone for a date or a drink. A violation is a violation," she said.
"We must not ostracise victims of violence but implement measures that protect those who are bold enough to name and accuse their perpetrators
"This is by ensuring that there is a proper investigation and prosecution of such cases.”
Also speaking during the presser, Christine Kungu, the vice chairperson of Fida, listed other highly publicised femicide cases that have not yet been determined.
“Barely a week after the gruesome murder of Starlet Wahu, a woman was brutally murdered in Roysambu, Nairobi, under circumstances suspected to have been IPV.
"On Lang’ata estate, Nairobi, another woman is reported to have jumped from a third-floor apartment in unknown circumstances, and in Machakos, a female university student’s body was found raped and burned with an iron box,” Ms Kingu lamented.
Going forward, Fida wants the police to launch investigations and IPV and femicide perpetrators to be brought to book by the criminal justice system.
Ms Ireri also called for the tightening of regulations on accommodation services, including compulsory use of identification documents to register occupants and installing CCTV cameras.
