Some Gender Concerns on Policing in Nepal
Nepal's women and children continue to suffer due to lack of proper laws and policing, says BANDANA RANA
The social status of women in Nepal is generally low, a situation attributable both to the general poverty of the country and the gender-biased distribution of power and resources in the family and in society. Strongly influenced by patriarchal norms and values, discrimination against girls begins at birth, giving rise to rampant torture and violence against women and children.
Domestic violence is not yet considered to be an offence punishable by law. Therefore, most cases of violence against women and girls go unreported. The gender-specific violence that was rampant during the 12 years of Maoist insurgency led to immeasurable suffering of Nepali women and girls. Rape, sexual abuse, and torture committed by both warring sides were widespread. The insurgency also exacerbated gender inequalities, deeply rooted in traditional religious and social practices. Due to discriminatory laws related to property and welfare, women became particularly vulnerable when they were driven away from their homes or when a husband or close male relative was killed or injured. Women who were compelled to leave their homes faced tremendous difficulty finding decent employment because of a lack of resources and skills. In order to survive and support their families, displaced women were often forced to work in exploitative conditions, leaving them vulnerable to abuse and trauma.
Nepal does not have any law to promote and protect the rights of women and children who face domestic violence. Therefore the police are limited in their capacity to take any substantive legal action against those that perpetrate these crimes. They mostly try to resolve the conflict through mediation between the partners and in some cases threaten and imprison the perpetrator for a few days; though this is evidently not enough to prevent the continued occurrence of violence. (page 76 ends here)
Nepal Police: capacity to handle women and children issues
Nepal is a signatory to, and has ratified, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), without any reservations. In line with the commitments made in these conventions, and because of the pressure from organizations working on this issue, the Nepal Police have gradually tried to make justice accessible to women and children survivors of different forms of crime. In 1996, the police realized the need for a special investigative team of female police officers, to increase the accessibility of the police to women. Thus the ‘Central Women Service Centre’ was established at the Police Headquarters at Naxal. In addition to this district, Women Service Centres were established in four other districts. Mostly it is female police officers who are assigned in such centers. According to information issued by the Nepal Police, last year the total number of female officers was 1,662 (3.51 %); of which only a limited number occupy senior positions – three are Senior Superintendents of Police and seven are Deputy Superintendents of Police.
The main task of the Women Service Centre was to investigate crime against women in close co-operation with government units such as the Chief District Officer and local Women and Development Officers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in the area of women’s rights, and civil society. At the time of establishment, these centers focused on women’s issues, however their services were expanded to include children, as well.
Today these centers are known as Women and Children Service Centres. With the increasing demand for such services, the number of centers was gradually expanded in other districts. Today there are 22 Women and Children Service Centres operating throughout Nepal, but due to the armed conflict, these centers have been hard hit both in terms of allocation of resources and the capacity-building of staff.
Prior to the establishment of the centers, all cases related to women and children were heard by a male investigating officer. This made it very difficult for survivors of violence to make complaints on sensitive issues which required the utmost privacy. However, with the establishment of these centers, cases related to violence faced (see page 77) by women and children are now dealt with by those who work in these units.
According to the Chief of Kalimati Women’s Cell, Deputy Superintendent of Police Durga Singh, this has brought about some improvement in addressing women’s cases more effectively and sensitively. However, though the centers work in close coordination with cases of violence against women and children, it is difficult to prosecute the perpetrators because there is no law against domestic violence. Therefore when a complaint of domestic violence is registered, very little action can be taken.
Types of cases
According to officials from the centers, the majority of cases that they deal with are related to domestic violence, rape, sexual assault, trafficking and polygamy. They say that due to the conflict the number of cases that are being reported has increased, although the nature of cases more or less remains the same. However in the experience of the staff of the women’s shelter run by Saathi (an NGO working on violence against women since 1992) the demographic definition of the victims, and the types of crime have changed since the conflict started. Previously most of the survivors that came to the shelter were above 25-years-old and they were victims of crimes such as domestic violence and polygamy.
However in the last five years ninety percent of the survivors who have come to the shelter are young girls between the ages of fourteen and twenty five. They are migrants from areas affected by conflict who have come to the cities in search of employment. In the process they fall easy prey to relationships outside of marriage,
become pregnant and are then abandoned by the man. Quite a significant number of these men happen to be married men from the military and the police.
Police handling of cases of violence against women
One of the constant problems in addressing violence against women has been a lack of understanding and sensitivity among police officers. Generally women who try to report any form of sexual assault or domestic violence encounter a police system that is not very competent and sometimes outright abusive. Since the police system is usually the point of first contact with the criminal (page 78 ends here) justice system, women survivors, in seeking justice for sexual or other assault, encounter obstacles from the very beginning of the process.
As a result of the stigma that is attached to rape and domestic abuse, women survivors of such violence are particularly vulnerable to police misconduct. Several women survivors complain that the police do not want to believe them, and further victimize them by belittling and degrading them. The police are also often reluctant to tackle sexual and domestic violence as full-fledged crimes as there is no legislation in regard to this. The little action that they take is under the Public Offence Act. Hence, in cases of domestic violence, they tend to see their role more as that of a mediator.
Talking to survivors of different forms of sexual and domestic violence has revealed that when they go to the police station on their own, their complaints are not addressed. Only when they go through women’s organizations are their cases officially registered. The most common problem encountered by women is that even when their complaints are registered it is never thoroughly investigated. Consequently, many women are deterred from reporting abuses, and consider contacting the police to be a futile endeavor. Of those that have attempted to report a crime, many have subsequently revealed that their experience of confronting insensitive police officers was more traumatic than the assault itself.
In addition to the institutional obstacles that women face with the police, quite a significant number of cases that come to Saathi’s shelter are victims of police abuse. The most common police crime is verbal and physical violence in public places, but also in places of work. Moreover, several women that have come to the shelter have been abandoned by police officers who have got them pregnant and then deserted them.
Police and NGO collaboration
The problem of gender discrimination and violence is complex and requires a range of interventions at a variety of levels, from the family through to the state. In this regard, it has become increasingly clear that the police can play a crucial role. Unless the (page 79 ends here) police force is willing and fully equipped to sensitively deal with women’s needs, there will be no relief for the millions who suffer day-to-day violence.
Training:
Over the years many women and children’s organizations have been conducting orientation and training programs among different stakeholders in the effort to combat violence against women and children. The purpose of such training has been to raise awareness on the different dimensions of violence, to analyze the
role of different actors, to build the capacity of those who directly or indirectly deal with cases of violence, and to strengthen networking. The representation and participation of the police have been important components of such training. The combination of police personnel and NGO workers at various training sessions has
contributed to a fruitful interchange of ideas and experiences and in bridging the gap between NGO activists and police personnel, thus enabling them to address and resolve cases of domestic and other community violence more effectively.
Victim support:
There are many shelters for women and children in Nepal run by NGOs such as Saathi, Maiti Nepal, Women’s Rehabilitation Centre (WOREC) and Child Workers in Nepal Concerned Centre (CWIN). These shelters are especially important as the police do not possess the capacity to provide survivors of violence with immediate support, such as shelter, medical attention or counseling. Therefore the police are able to refer most of the survivors who come to them, to NGO shelters. This has helped to build a close rapport between the NGOs and the police. Thus, the police are a crucial partner in running shelters.
Of those women that have not been referred by the police, their cases are registered with the local police station soon after arrival and prior to their departure from the shelter. This collaboration is essential for the security of the survivors. This interaction also aids the majority of the survivors of violence to seek help from the police in bringing the perpetrators of violence to justice. (page 80 ends here)
Trafficking:
The police also appear to be willing to assist NGOs in tackling the problem of trafficking. The police, for example, have worked in partnership with Saathi at the border point of Nepalgunj. This is because the local Women and Children Service Centre has seconded one of its officers to Saathi, to help staff with their activities. The presence of this police officer has made it much easier for the staff of Saathi to carry out their work effectively without being intimidated by the people who are stopped for questioning.
Key issues
• In the absence of a law relating to domestic violence, the police are generally not responsive to cases of domestic violence, such as sexual assault. Moreover the police tend to treat domestic violence as a trivial family matter, and are reluctant to press charges against the perpetrators of violence.
• The establishment of the Women and Children Service Centres in many districts has helped in addressing the cases of different forms of violence faced by women and children. However, the officials at the centers frequently lack the sensitivity, skill and perseverance to deal with these sensitive cases.
• It is also evident that a victim of abuse is treated differently when they approach the police through a social organization. Those women that seek justice independently often find it
difficult to make any progress.
• Given the right scope and environment, and through persistent and frequent interaction, the police force, contrary to general perceptions, is receptive to change and to introducing and implementing policies that address gender-based violence more efficiently and effectively.
Recommendations
• Continuous education programs, such as gender sensitization, aimed at police officers responsible for women and children issues, could help to improve access to justice for the survivors of violence. (page 81 ends here)
• Out of the total police force only 3.51 percent are women. Increasing female recruitment and addressing the under-representation of women in decision-making positions within the
police force could also help to achieve more gender sensitivity in the police.
• Develop collaborative projects, such as training materials, reports, workshops and assessment tools in order to mainstream gender issues into the police system. The police should also be made aware of the international conventions and commitments.
In light of the post-conflict challenges that Nepal is facing now, of particular relevance is UN Resolution 1325 relating to women, peace and security.
• Include the issue of all forms of gender violence in the curriculum of the police cadet academies. All senior cadets should also work with NGOs addressing women’s and children’s
issues as part of their training.
• Women and Children Service Centres should be established in all districts and equipped with adequate resources, authority and capacity to handle cases of gender-based violence.
Bandana Rana is president of Sancharika Samuha. This article is from "Policing in Nepal: A collection of essays" published (September 2007, English version) by Saferword, a London-based non-profit. See pages 76-82
Posted by Editor on December 8, 2007 7:12 PM