Challenges experienced by service providers in the delivery of medico-legal services to survivors of sexual violence in Kenya
Challenges experienced by service providers in the delivery of medico-legal services to survivors of sexual violence in Kenya
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DOI：
10.1016/j.jflm.2011.02.004
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发表时间：
2011-05-01
影响因子：
1.5
通讯作者：
Otwombe, K.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Ajema, C.;Mukoma, W.;Otwombe, K.
尽管人们对界定向性暴力幸存者提供服务时所需的护理标准进行了很多讨论，但对成功起诉肇事者的证据收集程序却很少关注。在肯尼亚，没有全面的指导方针来概述幸存者、社区、医护人员和警察在处理法医证据方面的作用，这一缺陷导致起诉的拖延，甚至无法起诉性犯罪者。本研究探讨了肯尼亚在性暴力案件中充分处理法医证据的一些障碍。该报告基于对来自医疗机构、警察局、民间社会组织的受访者以及肯尼亚三个省份的政府化学家的深入访谈。该研究的目的是审查有关卫生和刑事司法系统维护证据链的现有政策要求，以及这些政策的执行效果如何。研究结果表明，卫生保健工作者获得的证据质量往往存在缺陷，这取决于强奸幸存者向卫生机构报告之前经过的时间；卫生机构提供的设备；幸存者的年龄；服务提供者对从性暴力幸存者收集的证据类型的了解程度。 (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd 和法医与法律医学学院。版权所有。
While much discussion has been devoted to defining the standards of care required when offering services to survivors of sexual violence, much less attention has been given to procedures for evidence collection to allow the successful prosecution of perpetrators. In Kenya there are no comprehensive guidelines that outline the roles of the survivor, the community, health care workers, and the police with regard to the handling of forensic evidence, a deficit that contributes to delays in prosecuting, or even a failure to prosecute sex offenders. This study examines some of the obstacles in Kenya to the adequate handling of forensic evidence in sexual violence cases. It was based on in-depth interviews with respondents drawn from health facilities, police stations, civil society organizations and with the Government Chemist in three Kenyan provinces. The study's objective was to examine the existing policy requirements regarding the maintenance of an evidence chain by the health and criminal justice systems, and how effectively they are being implemented. The findings indicate that the quality of the evidence obtained by the health care workers was often deficient, depending on the time elapsed before the rape survivor reports to the health facility; the equipment available at the health facility; the age of the survivor; and the level of knowledge of the service provider regarding the types of evidence to be collected from survivors of sexual violence. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.