Small changes can win LARGE successes in the fight against rape

SOME relatively small and cheap – but potentially highly fruitful – changes should be made to the way rape is investigated and prosecuted in Namibia in order to ensure greater success in the battle against this offence, it is recommended in an in-depth report unveiled in Windhoek last week.

The report by the Legal Assistance Centre’s Gender Research and Advocacy Project, titled ‘Rape in Namibia’, is the result of the most comprehensive study yet on the phenomenon of rape in Namibia. A total of 409 rape cases that were being investigated by the Police and 547 rape cases that were making their way through the country’s courts provided some of the material on which the report is based.The research for the report was done during 2005 and last year.SENTENCES One of the findings that came to light from this research, said the Co-ordinator of the Gender Research and Advocacy Project, Dianne Hubbard, is that a large majority of people accused of rape in Namibia never have to pay a price for their alleged crime.”Four out of five people accused of rape never have to pay for their crime.Looking at it the other way around, only one out of every five people accused of rape or attempted rape will be convicted of either of these crimes.This means that regular calls for heavier sentences are somewhat misplaced – the sentence is irrelevant if the criminal is not convicted,” Hubbard remarked at the launch on Tuesday.In the report of some 600 pages, which makes a host of recommendations to address this low conviction rate in rape cases, the futility of calling for heavier sentences for convicted rapists while most of the people accused of committing this crime get off scot-free is also highlighted.”Members of the public often call for stiffer sentences for rapists, but the study findings indicate that it would make more sense to spend energy and public resources on decreasing rape [charge] withdrawals and increasing conviction rates,” it is stated in the introduction to the report.The research showed that out of every 100 rape cases reported to the Police, arrests will be made in only 70 cases.Some of the charges against these 70 accused will be withdrawn by the complainant – often because the complainant and the perpetrator are related, the report states.”Even more will be withdrawn by the prosecutor, mostly because of lack of enough evidence to make a strong case,” the report continues.”Trials will be finalised for only about 36 of the 100 alleged perpetrators, and only about 19 of them will be convicted of any sexual offence at all.Only 16 of these 100 alleged rapists will be convicted of rape or attempted rape.”About a third of the complainants in rape cases ask that the charge they had laid with the Police should be withdrawn, according to Hubbard.She remarked that one strategy to address this phenomenon would be to set up a victim-support programme, staffed by trained volunteers, who could keep complainants informed about the status of their cases and could take them to court for orientation before their cases go on trial.”Similar initiatives have met with great success in other countries,” Hubbard said.”We believe that this kind of support for victims could discourage withdrawals.”LOST IN TRANSLATION Changing the way that a statement is taken from the complainant at the very start of the investigation of a rape case could also help prevent later difficulties in proving a rape charge, the report indicates.One difficulty currently being experienced in Namibia is getting accurate Police statements from a complainant, Hubbard said.”If the statement is written down inaccurately, then the complainant will appear to be contradicting herself in court.One possible solution is to have the Police write down the statement in the complainant’s home language, instead of in English.These statements would have to be translated into English later on, but the increased accuracy would probably outweigh the extra effort and expense,” Hubbard said.Another problem that was identified also crops up in the beginning stages of a rape investigation.It was found that doctors who examine rape survivors often produce reports of poor quality, Hubbard said.Evidence from these doctors is often absolutely crucial in any rape case, but their medical reports are often either unclear or incomplete.In the LAC’s report, it is recommended that this situation could be addressed by providing more regular and intense training to doctors on the forms that they have to complete after examining a rape complainant and on the importance of these forms.For Cuban doctors working in Namibia, a Spanish translation of these documents should be made, it is also recommended.One of the other problems pointed out by the report is “that key players from different ministries are simply not talking to each other enough”, Hubbard added.”It would be extremely helpful if there were a small, informal forum where key officials at the highest levels could meet regularly.This could be mirrored at local levels,” she suggested.INVESTIGATIONS It is also recommended that Namibia should adopt prosecutor-guided investigations, which is a technique used very successfully in South Africa, Hubbard said.With this approach, the public prosecutor who later takes the case to court liaises with the investigating officer from the beginning to make sure that there are no gaps in the evidence, Hubbard said.She added that many of the suggestions made in the report would be free or cheap to implement.One of the recommendations, for instance, is that rape cases involving minors or at least children under the age of 16 should be given priority on court rolls so that they can be heard promptly, before the child’s memory of the incident fades.Another suggestion is that court interpreters should receive specific training on rape cases to increase their understanding of how to make sensitive and accurate translations on sexual issues.* The report in full is available from the LAC at a price of N$200.A 110-page summary is available for N$100.A total of 409 rape cases that were being investigated by the Police and 547 rape cases that were making their way through the country’s courts provided some of the material on which the report is based.The research for the report was done during 2005 and last year.SENTENCES One of the findings that came to light from this research, said the Co-ordinator of the Gender Research and Advocacy Project, Dianne Hubbard, is that a large majority of people accused of rape in Namibia never have to pay a price for their alleged crime.”Four out of five people accused of rape never have to pay for their crime.Looking at it the other way around, only one out of every five people accused of rape or attempted rape will be convicted of either of these crimes.This means that regular calls for heavier sentences are somewhat misplaced – the sentence is irrelevant if the criminal is not convicted,” Hubbard remarked at the launch on Tuesday.In the report of some 600 pages, which makes a host of recommendations to address this low conviction rate in rape cases, the futility of calling for heavier sentences for convicted rapists while most of the people accused of committing this crime get off scot-free is also highlighted.”Members of the public often call for stiffer sentences for rapists, but the study findings indicate that it would make more sense to spend energy and public resources on decreasing rape [charge] withdrawals and increasing conviction rates,” it is stated in the introduction to the report.The research showed that out of every 100 rape cases reported to the Police, arrests will be made in only 70 cases.Some of the charges against these 70 accused will be withdrawn by the complainant – often because the complainant and the perpetrator are related, the report states.”Even more will be withdrawn by the prosecutor, mostly because of lack of enough evidence to make a strong case,” the report continues.”Trials will be finalised for only about 36 of the 100 alleged perpetrators, and only about 19 of them will be convicted of any sexual offence at all.Only 16 of these 100 alleged rapists will be convicted of rape or attempted rape.”About a third of the complainants in rape cases ask that the charge they had laid with the Police should be withdrawn, according to Hubbard.She remarked that one strategy to address this phenomenon would be to set up a victim-support programme, staffed by trained volunteers, who could keep complainants informed about the status of their cases and could take them to court for orientation before their cases go on trial.”Similar initiatives have met with great success in other countries,” Hubbard said.”We believe that this kind of support for victims could discourage withdrawals.” LOST IN TRANSLATION Changing the way that a statement is taken from the complainant at the very start of the investigation of a rape case could also help prevent later difficulties in proving a rape charge, the report indicates.One difficulty currently being experienced in Namibia is getting accurate Police statements from a complainant, Hubbard said.”If the statement is written down inaccurately, then the complainant will appear to be contradicting herself in court.One possible solution is to have the Police write down the statement in the complainant’s home language, instead of in English.These statements would have to be translated into English later on, but the increased accuracy would probably outweigh the extra effort and expense,” Hubbard said.Another problem that was identified also crops up in the beginning stages of a rape investigation.It was found that doctors who examine rape survivors often produce reports of poor quality, Hubbard said.Evidence from these doctors is often absolutely crucial in any rape case, but their medical reports are often either unclear or incomplete.In the LAC’s report, it is recommended that this situation could be addressed by providing more regular and intense training to doctors on the forms that they have to complete after examining a rape complainant and on the importance of these forms.For Cuban doctors working in Namibia, a Spanish translation of these documents should be made, it is also recommended.One of the other problems pointed out by the report is “that key players from different ministries are simply not talking to each other enough”, Hubbard added.”It would be extremely helpful if there were a small, informal forum where key officials at the highest levels could meet regularly.This could be mirrored at local levels,” she suggested.INVESTIGATIONS It is also recommended that Namibia should adopt prosecutor-guided investigations, which is a technique used very successfully in South Africa, Hubbard said.With this approach, the public prosecutor who later takes the case to court liaises with the investigating officer from the beginning to make sure that there are no gaps in the evidence, Hubbard said.She added that many of the suggestions made in the report would be free or cheap to implement.One of the recommendations, for instance, is that rape cases involving minors or at least children under the age of 16 should be given priority on court rolls so that they can be heard promptly, before the child’s memory of the incident fades.Another suggestion is that court interpreters should receive specific training on rape cases to increase their understanding of how to make sensitive and accurate translations on sexual issues.* The report in full is available from the LAC at a price of N$200.A 110-page summary is available for N$100.