Sex pests have to be punished

Taita Taveta Women Representative Joyce Lay has accused Turbo MP Elisha Busienei of sexual harassment.

It has been a charged week in Kenya what with sexual harassment charges flying hither and thither with the suspects being none other than Members of Parliament who are supposed to be honourable.

By all standards, that is a situation that can only be described as shameful, sad and unacceptable.

One of the MPs, Gideon Mwiti of Imenti Central, is alleged to have beaten and raped a woman at his private office, and yes, investigations are still ongoing.

Another MP, Elisha Busienei, is accused of having sexually harassed Taita Taveta Women Representative Joyce Lay during a trip to Japan.

Whether the allegations turn out to be true or not, the scenarios are a reminder that gender-based sexual violence is rampant even as laws to punish perpetrators are in place.

Sexual violence is a controversial topic in the Kenyan society more so because matters sexual are often considered taboo and that is why perpetrators often go Scot-free.

Which begs the question: Has the justice system now that studies show that cases are on the rise and many instances go unreported or are not acted upon?

Insensitive act

The Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) 2008-09 indicated that about 45 per cent of women aged 15-49 have experienced either physical or sexual violence.

The report reveals that 25 percent of women have experienced physical violence, 7 percent have experienced sexual violence, and 14 percent have experienced both physical and sexual violence.

Also, the 2010 Police Annual Crime Report showed an increase of 8 per cent in rape cases, 19 per cent in defilement cases and 22 per cent in cases of incest.

An example of a case not being acted upon effectively, is that of a 16-year old girl who was gang-raped by six men in Busia in 2013.

This story drew the attention of even the international media, and according to reports, Liz was beaten, raped and thrown in a pit latrine.

The matter was reported to the police and three of the six perpetrators were seized by villagers and taken to Tingolo Administration Police Camp.

However, the officer on duty decided that the most befitting punishment for the perpetrators was to cut grass — after which they were released.

That insensitive act by the police officer sparked a global campaign dubbed Justice for Liz which demanded for the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators.

Reports of sexual violence abound in the media. That is proof enough that they are on the rise, and National Gender and Equality Commission recently pointed out that sexual violence occurs frequently but is unreported to the authorities because of shame and stigma.

“Even though it can be said that more cases of sexual violence and harassment are being reported, there are several victims who do not report to the authorities,” Alberta Wambua, the Executive Director of Gender Violence Recovery Centre said on a live television show on Monday.

“In a year, the centre supports about 3000 survivors of sexual violence and only 15 per cent of them will report the matter to the police and see the process through.”

She pointed out that some of the reasons survivors give for their failure to report include fear of their relations as they wonder how they will react to the news.

A rape survivor, Wangu Kanja, who was a panelist on the show, agreed with Alberta.

Wangu, the founder of Wangu Kanja Foundation that supports survivors of sexual violence to access medical, psychological, legal redress as well as create awareness, said that she was raped at gunpoint during a carjacking incident in 2002.

“When I went to report to the police, they told me not to tell my boyfriend or, if I was married, my husband because he would leave me,” she said on the show.

“When you are raped, society looks at you as if you are tainted or dirty.”

Both Wangu and Alberta said that sexual violence cases are not reported because of the long court process which re-traumatises victims given that they have to face the perpetrators several times in the courts.

There is also the aspect of intimidation since the perpetrators often get bail and are then likely to intimidate the victims.

Lack enough evidence

Joyce Lay says that cases of sexual violence are not being treated with the seriousness they deserve, and advises women not to be intimidated when reporting that they have been violated.

She says under-reporting is partly due to ignorance. “Women, who are majority of the victims of sexual offences, do not know the laws that are meant to protect them or they do not understand them,” Lay said, adding that she has tabled a motion in Parliament to have essential laws translated to Kiswahili.

The other factor that may contribute to under-reporting is the feeling by the victims that they lack enough evidence to prove that the crime was committed.

“If special units were to be set up, it would help to officers trained in matters of sexual violence because that would ensure that investigations would be done right given how crucial this stage is in prosecuting a sexual violence case,” Wangu said later in a telephone interview.

“Even though there is a law in place, the police service needs to consider setting up an independent unit that is fully equipped to deal with sexual violence cases,”

Wangu feels it is important to document psychological trauma and that it would be important to have a doctor and a psychologist at the station to offer psychological support and for the doctor to accompany the victim to a health facility for the collection of evidence and the filling of the mandatory P3 Form.

Christine Ochieng, the Executive Director of the Federation of Women Lawyers - Kenya, who was also a panelist on the television show, pointed out that the way evidence is collected after a sexual offence also determines how the case is handled.

“It is important for victims not to shower or wash their clothes say after a rape ordeal,” Christine said.

“A victim should visit a health facility where doctors will conduct tests and collect evidence that will help them fill out the P3 Form which is later presented in court.

“Victims should not carry the clothes they were in during the attack in a plastic bag because the DNA on the clothes may be eroded. They should carry them in a brown paper bag.”

Fact that many victims are not aware that they could even be interfering with evidence validates Lay’s point that they are eluded by justice due to lack of information on what to do.

Lay said that it is the responsibility of the leaders to ensure that Kenyans understood the law, and there is great need to make the law available to all Kenyans.

Wangu concurs, saying that lack of understanding, and information, or ignorance on the part of the victims has seen many perpetrators get freed, or receive lesser sentences. “If you do not understand the law then that creates many hurdles,” Wangu said.

“For instance if you report and the charge sheet is filled in wrongly, the perpetrator will have an undue advantage and he can charged for a different crime or be freed.

“If it is rape, it should be recorded as such and not as sexual harassment which is a lesser charge. If the attacker beats you, rapes you and steals from you then the charge sheet should have three different charges.

“On various occasions, we have had to accompany victims to the police to make sure that everything was done correctly.”