NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 30- Kenya has developed new Sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV) guidelines, to ensure cases documented during the electioneering period are expeditiously handled after the August 9 polls.
The guidelines were developed by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) in collaboration with other stakeholders.
Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji said the guidelines will be critical in providing an easily accessible resource for the prosecutors to facilitate a coherent, expeditious, and efficient prosecution of the cases.
“Women and children must have the right to enjoy their freedom. And women also have the right to participate in elections in a peaceful, free and fair environment that safeguards them and assures them of the right to exercise their civil duty,” Haji said.
Haji said his office will be working closely with other stakeholders.
The stakeholders include the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), the Witness Protection Agency, and the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) for the effective implementation of the guidelines.
“We have come up with call centers where we will issue numbers to Kenyans which will help them to raise any concern and also make calls to report any person who will go against the law during the election period,” he said.
“Those who think that they will be able to commit those offenses should know that we will have the date to follow up in real-time,” he said.
In the 2017 General Election, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) documented 201 cases of gender-based violence against women which included gang rape.
Some stakeholders say there were more cases that were never documented.
The Commission of Inquiry into the 2007 -2008 Post-Election Violence (CIPEV) documented 900 cases of sexual violence perpetrated by security agents, militia groups, and civilians against women, girls, men, and boys in a context of large-scale violence and mass displacement, as well as more than 1,000 deaths.
“The reason why we have decided to launch this together with other stakeholders involved in the electoral process is that a lot of sexual gender-based violence occurs during the election period,” he said.
“We have seen in past elections the incidence of misconduct even within those who are supposed to provide security, this issue must be highlighted that women and children must have the right to enjoy their freedom.”
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