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Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Good News on Tackling Violence Against Women

If we stay the course and continue to mount pressure on leaders and concerned institutions in Africa, in our advocacy for positive change, we'll definitely get some results. It may come in trickles and sometimes the rate may be frustrating but it is a persistence worth enduring. The message from Abuja, Nigeria, from the National Assembly as reported recently in the Nigeria Tribune is a fitting recognition, by the legislature, of the dangers posed by unchecked violence against women and the vulnerable in the society. The stage is now ripe for intense campaign and awareness programmes on what constitutes violence against women. People, especially women, generally don't talk about sexual violence because of  fear of stigmatization and further victimization by largely an uninformed public predicated on baseless cultural malpractices. There is also urgent need to train the police, members of the judiciary, and other relevant practitioners on the subject of Gender Based Violence especially on management modalities of the various conditions and on the impact on victims, their families and the entire society. In one informal meeting I had with some investigating police officers in Nigeria, all of them were seeing a "Rape Kit" (sexual assault forensic evidence kit), used in the forensic investigation of cases of sexual violence, for the first time! While an enabling law is urgently needed, there is equally a pressing need to begin to equip relevant personnel with the necessary knowledge, skills and facilities to make the law meaningful to the ordinary citizen who may need the protection and services prescribed by such law. Promulgating necessary laws should not be an end by itself but should rather emerge simultaneously with the provision/availability of necessary infrastructure, expertise and resources. In the meantime, we can follow up on "Law to punish violence against women coming soon" to make it a reality, and this effort needs to be replicated in all African countries where there is need to tackle this hydra headed monster of Gender Based Violence from all angles.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Sexual Violence: Another Sad Report and A Tragic End

When will there ever be a national outrage and citizens' action to put a STOP to incessant sexual violence and gender based violence against females in our community? Unfortunately, for every report that makes it to the newsroom, there are countless women who are dying in silence or dead already.
The government will have to take an active role in stemming the tide; our National Assembly will have to urgently review the archaic laws and pass appropriate Acts to address this social cancer. It is also time appropriate support services were provided including forensic medical service. Another woman is slaughtered like an animal!

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

"Uncivilised Treatment of Female Suspects": Bundled Editorial of a National Daily

The Editorial page of  May 7, 2013 in one of the front-line national newspapers in Nigeria focused on a very important issue on the subject of maltreatment of female detainees in police cell and prisons with regards to sexual abuse. We have inadvertently tolerated such gross violations of Human Rights at our police stations, detention centres and prisons as part of  some hopeless resignation to fate in the hands of people who are supposed to serve the citizenry and protect human dignity but have turned their staff of office against the people and constituted themselves maximum authorities. Unfortunately, one of the factors fueling gender based violence is the pervasive female stereotypes in our community. It is this stereotype that portrays women as objects for possession and for pleasure, and it's not surprising that most women unfortunate to be detained in police cells or prisons in Nigeria, and most of Africa, bear scars of sexual abuse(most of time silently).

Laudable as the effort of Punch Newspapers to bring this malady to the national discuss might be, it is nonetheless laced with a typical stereotype which tends to classify women as "vectors" of diseases and not rightly as humans who have been abused, often by men who are mindless and in actual sense are vectors of human failure, depravation and low life. The following statement in the Punch Editorial: "But more frightening is the health hazards such sexually harassed female detainees pose to the wider society when freed. Certainly, they become agents for the spread of sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/AIDS, gonorrhoea and syphilis. Other contagious ailments such as tuberculosis and cholera easily spread"  is ill informed and most unfortunate.
Punch Editorial should be educated that "more frightening" is the impunity of those in authority who abuse their power and violate the vulnerable; "more frightening" is a society which has become unsafe for everyone of us; "more frightening" is the savagery and inhumanity in our midst; "more frightening" is the complacency of the entire society which has failed to hold people to account and firmly demand for justice; "more frightening" is the lack of support services for survivors of sexual violence; and "more frightening"  is the absence of appropriate forensic medicine service for the management of the survivors, and for collection of forensic medical evidence for the justice system. These and more are the "more frightening" situations that an informed Punch Editorial should have been concerned about, rather than the apparent re-victimization of already traumatized women in that poorly conceived statement which is dripping from a poisonous gravy of female stereotype as sexual objects that are "vectors" of diseases following sexual assault. This has been responsible for the stigmatization and continuing violence that survivors of sexual assault experience in our society. Punch Newspaper should withdraw that unfortunate statement and correct a wrong impression which has devalued a beautiful case the paper has tried to make for the respect of human dignity in their Editorial page of this day.

Monday, May 6, 2013

Baga Massacre: The Missing Item in the Report

Baga massacre is only different this time round because it has occurred in 2013, and in a different location. Regrettably, we have witnessed  previous massacres and ongoing indiscriminate killings in Nigeria which  have not been accounted for. This is also in addition to numerous man made disasters in different parts of the country, in which figures are estimated in varying proportions by different interest groups and government agencies. The usual motion  by those in authority is a quick and despicable mass burial, and thereafter, we never get to know the exact number of victims and whom they are. Victims of these mindless disasters, like in all disasters, deserve to be identified; they deserve the respect, dignity and right of "listening" to their remains tell us whom they are, what happened, how it happened, and what caused their death. This is what forensic autopsy does in disasters or massacres or in any forensic investigation of death. A good number of answers will be provided if a proper autopsy is carried out on the deceased, and one vital information that is both a matter of human right and dignity and also of crucial clue to understanding the circumstance of event is proper identification of victims. In our usual hurry to "move on", these victims are buried in mass graves like animal remains, and the lives of their loved ones are thereby "suspended" indefinitely in search for answers that may never come.

The regular reports that are submitted to government by relevant agencies do not contain the names of victims of such massacres or disasters, as the case may be. Figures are just figures and worse still, are even wide estimates as if dealing with mere objects. But we can identify with a name. A name is a relation of someone-a father, mother, sister, brother, son, husband, wife etc. The impact of a name (and not a figure) brings home the implication of an irreparable loss. It is a 100% loss to a family, a community and a nation. This is what is usually missing in the disaster report that government receives. The reports are usually hollow, without soul and without the essence of humanity. We cannot understand fully what happened to the victims of Baga massacre until a forensic autopsy is conducted on ALL of the remains. It is not too late to do so. Even if the bodies have been buried, they could still be exhumed and accorded appropriate examination as we "listen" to what they have to tell us about that fateful day in Baga. It may be a long and meticulous process, but it's a yield of TRUTH we cannot afford to sacrifice on the altar of "convenience"; it is human right and dignity for the deceased; it's proper closure for their families and friends; and it's soul searching for a nation that desperately needs a rediscovery and a true identify. If government is ready to follow through the right procedures in death investigation through forensic autopsy and related processes, we can mobilize appropriate personnel for the task at any time.

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Conducting Drug Tests on our Police Officers, Soldiers and other Security Operatives

I was in traffic jam at a peak time of the day and suddenly, close by, several rounds of gunshot rang through. It was terrifying in a situation where there was no escape whatsoever. Finally, it was the police, accompanying some VIP in their blaring siren, who simply wanted to intimidate other road users and force the rest of us to literally carry our vehicles on our heads and move out of the way for their convoy since  there was simply no place to turn to in the traffic gridlock. Suddenly, it struck me how abnormal it was for any persons in their right senses to act the way the police officers acted-creating more chaos in an already tensed and confused situation. It simply was not in the interest of anyone, including the police.

Our police officers, soldiers and other security operatives brandish high capacity guns in public, and are well too ready to fire shots at the slightest incident. All over Nigeria, there are numerous "anti robbery" squads  and many other police special squads who treat civilians with much disdain. In addition to their AK-47 rifles in combat mood like in war zones, they also readily use horse whips on motorists and other Nigerians at any perceived infraction. It's disgusting seeing the humiliation they mete out to citizens who dare ask for decorum or who "cross their path" in their own definition  Alcohol oozes out of their breaths and some of them openly smoke cannabis. I've come into close contact with police officers; some of whom are downright drunk with their uniform on and AK-47 rifles in their hands! When an officer starts boasting,  "I'll finish you (i.e kill you) and nothing will happen!" you immediately know that something is clearly wrong. I asked a police officer if he was aware and concerned that fellow officers might be carrying out official duties with such lethal weapons under the influence of alcohol and other drugs, his response was stunning. He was of  the view that police officers, especially those on "special squads" would not be able to face the peculiar challenges of their tasks of engaging "hardened criminals" and all the shootings without "charging up" (i.e getting drunk). I thought a police officer with a weapon needed to be in the best frame of mind and coordination. I thought in any decent clime, the conduct of police officers, soldiers and other security operatives was viewed critically on a high standard justifying the confidence of the public that has bestowed upon them the powers and responsibilities of their office. How can a police officer who is equally drunk arrest a driver who is driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs? How we any surprised at the numerous "accidental discharges", extra-judicial killings and massacre in the hands of security operatives?

We need to address some root causes. The "private" life of a police officer is held to account once he or she undertakes the position of public responsibility and trust. Either at recruitment or periodic tests in service, there is no evidence that police officers, soldiers or other operatives undertake forensic toxicological tests in Nigeria. However, there is every evidence the tests are not being done. In the 21 century Nigeria, and with all the resources at the disposal of this country, we still have no forensic medical services that can offer forensic toxicology in the country. Such forensic testing can determine both present and past intake of some of these drugs of interest and also reveal pattern of use. Unfortunately, the nation has not seen the need to invest in something that will provide a safeguard for public health and security. But we readily invest in purchasing guns and ammunition , in purchasing "operational" vehicles usually driven by police drivers, whose conducts on the wheels defy any soundness of mind. Run any poll in any parts of the country, and most Nigerians will rate one dreaded nuisance as police/army convoy or "siren" vehicle whether for the VIPs, bullion vans or simply for conveying domestic staff of "people in power" to the market or shopping mall for shopping! Something is wrong somewhere, and there is apparent abuse of alcohol and drugs by our (in)security operatives who are supposed to be the epitome of good judgement, soundness, dexterity, and civility.

Alcohol and drug abuse may be a significant factor in the irrational and excessive use of force that has characterized our impression about the police, soldiers and other security operatives. We can easily test this hypothesis if we could muster the courage and shake off our collective complacency and start demanding for high standings; and start holding to account those saddled with public trust and responsibility. Unfortunately, we do not even have a forensic toxicology laboratory which is usually situated within the framework of a holistic forensic medicine services. How then do we go about addressing this important issue? The country needs to embrace modern forensic medicine practice including forensic toxicology and other support services. Forensic medicine underpins Security, the Justice System and Health.

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