Kambia District’s Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Score Card

The Centre for Accountability and the Rule of Law (CARL) is implementing a gender programme entitled “Enhancing Access to Justice for Sexual Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) Crimes in Kambia District”.

This project, funded by the United States’ Government’s SGWI, aims at ensuring that victims of sexual and gender-based violence have access to justice and that perpetrators of such crimes are held accountable for their crimes. In order to assess progress in the fight against sexual gender-based violence in the district, CARL organized a workshop in the community to develop a score card.

The community score card was developed as an accountability tool to ultimately bring community people (right holders) and duty bearers (Family Support Unit, medical personnel, local court personnel and personnel of the Magistrate Court) together to discuss the way forward and to hold service providers accountable for their actions.

On Day One, participants were drawn for the 13 communities that CARL operates in and they all agreed on indicators that would help them assess the progress or otherwise of efforts to enhance justice and accountability for sexual gender-based violence in Kambia. They agreed on the following indicators:

• Strong and prompt community response to incidents of sexual and gender-based violence, including by breaking the culture of silence on sexual and gender-based violence in the district
• Prompt Family Support Unit responses and support from traditional leaders/courts on issues of sexual gender-based violence
• Effective administration of justice in dealing with sexual gender-based  crimes
• Free medical examination and report for sexual and gender-based violence victims

After agreeing on the above indicators, the community people were asked to give their assessment of each of the indicators above. The Family Support Unit was the first they looked at since it is the only body authorized to investigate and prosecute cases of such nature. What came out clearly during the meeting with right holders (community people) was that FSU personnel were doing their best to fight SGBV; although the FSU continues to encounter some challenges with the community people.

They agreed that there is a general willingness on the part of the FSU personnel to investigate incidents of sexual abuse, especially if the complaint was filed by monitors trained by CARL. There are cases for which FSU personnel move to the crime scene to investigate, while for some others, community people have to move victims to FSU headquarters in Kambia and this often involves money, the lack of which sometimes pose a key challenge in the fight. They complained that there are times when FSU personnel have had to request transportation fare or money for fuel from victims and their parents to visit the scene of the crime; and at some other times the victims or their parents provide a photographer to take photos for evidence. Worse still, they reported that some investigation officers/ social workers ask for tokens from victims.

Secondly, the local court was examined to see how they dispense justice especially in women and children’s issues. Some of the comments made by the community people regarding their knowledge of the current state of affairs in their community include the following.

• Local court chairmen do not adjudicate rape or sexual penetration cases; rather, they refer such cases to the FSU, especially local courts in CARL’s operational communities. They did say, though, that there are serious challenges that confront the local courts.
• Paramount chiefs no longer allow out of court settlements for SGBV related cases, and this is as a result of the training they have received from CARL
• Community monitors and traditional leaders are in the fore-front in helping to prevent violence against women in their respective communities

Moreover, the community people believe that if medical practitioners began to give free medical examination and report, it would help a lot. But as things are now, doctors do not charge a fee for alleged raped cases, thanks to the intervention of CARL’s staff. However, some other medical personnel still ask for fees for medical examination and reporting, and others often treat victims in unfriendly manners. They still ask victims of domestic violence to pay fee, even though the Domestic Violence Act 2007 proscribes it.

In the area of administration of justice, the Magistrate Court was assessed to ascertain the way they conduct preliminary investigation in sexual and gender-based violence cases. The community people are of the opinion that if the issues mentioned below about the Magistrate Court are addressed, the administration of justice will be a lot more expedited and public confidence in the local justice system will be restored.

• The absence of a High Court in Kambia  hinders access to justice for victims as they often lack money to cover the cost of transportation for themselves or witnesses to appear before High Court in Port Loko District
• There is no resident magistrate in Kambia and cases are delayed as a result of that
• There are too many adjournments leading to prolonged trials; another cause of onerous financial costs on victims and their parents

On the second day, the same workshop was organized for law enforcement officers (mainly the FSU), justice officers (Local Court and Magistrate Court officers) and health workers. During the workshop, participants (duty bearers) were asked to discuss the challenges they face in doing their job. The following are some of the major highlights of the challenges they articulated.

1. Local court officials complained about external interference in the course of justice as one of the challenges they encounter. For instance, most times when dispensing their duties they are forced to move a case to another court, or asked to settle the matter even when they are supposed to refer to the FSU or the court. The only exception was SGBV-related cases. All of such cases, particularly in CARL’s focus communities, are referred to the FSU.
2. The FSU complained about the lack of logistics to carry out their duties effectively. There is a deficient supply of vehicles or motor-bikes, cameras etc, all of which are badly needed to boost their work.
3. The FSU have limited office space—they currently occupy a single room.  It is often difficult to conduct interviews with victims, with other activities going on in the office simultaneously.
4. Medical practitioners complained about insufficient protective gears to do medical examination.
5. Local court personnel complained about non-payment of salaries for 3 years.
6. Although the law provides that only a certified medical doctor should do medical examination, the situation on ground is totally different, as medical doctors are not always present and even when they are, they are too busy with other duties.
7. There is lack of forensic capacity in the district and this negatively affects the credibility of medical evidence and such evidence presented in court.
8. All participants complained about poor conditions of service which they said has continued to dampen motivation in their various fields.

After highlighting their various challenges, they were asked to explain their dealing with victim of sexual and gender-based violence. The medical practitioners who are supposed to give factual evidence after conducting examination and report said that they do free medical examination and report based on the case at hand. A medical fee for domestic violence is paid on a case by case basis. Where violence is meted out by a stranger, the victim is required to pay for medical examination, but where violent conduct is perpetrated by a spouse, no fee is charged for medical examination and report. For all rape or sexual penetration cases, medical examination and certificate are free.

The Magistrate Court was also evaluated and some of the findings were that:

• There is no resident Magistrate in Kambia District, as the Magistrate in question covers Kambia, Port Loko, Masiaka, Lungi and Lunsar. This causes delay in court proceedings as alleged perpetrators are remanded for three weeks while they wait for the Magistrate to hear their case.
• When there is a Magistrate however, there is often speedy preliminary investigation for sexual gender-based violence cases.
• Victims/witnesses access to court is mostly constrained when cases are adjourned so many times, as this often comes with increased transportation costs. FSU personnel had sometimes had to bear the cost of transportation for their witnesses.
• The High Court Judge is over-burdened as all of these cases end up in his court, which sometimes cause delays in proceedings.

Family Support Unit personnel raised the following issues relating to their work around sexual gender-based violence issues in the district.

• FSU personnel have always provided prompt response when there have been incidences of SGBV, especially rape and sexual penetration have occurred
• FSU covers only 4 chiefdoms in Kambia District, which means 3 more chiefdoms in the district have no FSU personnel or services
• There is no hotline for FSU personnel in the district, and as a result victims in areas where FSU personnel are absent either have to travel all the way to Kambia to seek justice, or engage in out-of-court settlement, as the case may be

At the end of the discussion, a consensus was reached between the community people on one hand, and law enforcement officers and service providers on the other, that all the claims made and issues raised by each party involved were genuine and reliable, and that all parties would continue to work in concerted efforts to minimize incidences of sexual gender-based violence in the district.