Thomson Reuters Foundation anti-rape forum draws support from Haiti President-elect Michel Martelly
Mon, 9 May 2011 21:10 GMT
Thomson Reuters Foundation CEO Monique Villa confers with Haiti President-elect Michel Martelly at foundation-sponsored anti-rape forum in Port-au-Prince May 6, 2011. Tim Large/TRF
By Tim Large
TrustLaw
A day of panel discussions in Port-au-Prince resulted in bipartisan support for measures to fight an epidemic of sexual violence in the quake-shattered country. Read the full story.
Excerpted Points of Consensus:
- Information campaigns to inform women and girls of their legal rights, reinforce the point that victims are not to blame and help people avoid dangerous situations. One delegate gave the example of a child lured into a tent to watch television who was subsequently raped.
- The Prosecutor's Office has a 24-hour hotline -- 604 96 02 -- to advise women who have been raped but few people know about it. This number should be widely disseminated on TV and radio.
- More female police officers should be appointed to help change attitudes in precincts and provide better support for rape survivors.
- The forum recognised that a significant barrier to justice is linguistic since French rather than Creole is the language of the courts.
- Delegates also agreed on the vexed issue of medical certificates documenting evidence of sexual intercourse and often violence, which are central documents to rape prosecutions.
- Under existing rules, medical certificates can only be issued by general hospitals accredited by the health ministry. That makes it extremely difficult for people living outside of Port-au-Prince to get the certificates within the three days needed to issue an immediate warrant.
- Women doctors at HUEH are often asked to redo medical certificates performed by doctors at other institutions, meaning that victims have to undergo a second examination. The forum called for a less centralised process.
- Delegates said that women who call the hotline of the Prosecutor's Office should be advised on what to do to file an official complaint. They should also be told that they need to present an original of the medical certificate since copies are routinely discredited by defence lawyers.
- They said doctors needed to be trained to reduce the incidence of poorly completed medical certificates, which defence lawyers take advantage of.
- Judges should be trained to make sure they understand and accord proper weight to medical certificates. They should also be trained to be fairer to victims. For example, they should understand that a woman can still be raped even if she is not a virgin.
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