Women judges in Africa want special courts to be established to deal with rape and other sexual offences.
Court of Appeal judge Hannah Okwengu said developing gender responsive courts is essential for the promotion of equality and gender justice.
She made the remarks yesterday during the International Association of Women Judges Conference at Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi, that brought together more than 300 women judges in Africa.
Under the theme ‘Women Judges Enabling Sustainable Development Goals’, the conference will centre on the implementation of laws on sexual and gender-based violence, women leadership in the Judiciary and gender vulnerability in conflict situations.
Okwengu said establishing the special courts will address the issue of backlog and will aid in ensuring justice.
“Cases of SGBV are on the rise across the country. Having special courts will help in speeding up such cases. However, we also need to ensure that our magistrates and prosecutors are properly trained to handle them,” she said.
The judges expressed concern on the laxity in prosecuting perpetrators of sexual offences committed during the 2007-08 post-election violence.
There are no definitive figures on how many women and men were sexually abused, but activists estimate at least 3,000 women were raped, with at least 60 per cent of the gang rapes attributed to security agents. No one has been convicted.
Chief Registrar of the Judiciary Anne Amadi said although progress has been made, cost, distance, technicalities of the processes and other distinctive experiences of women hinder justice for SGBV victims.
She also said it is difficult to prosecute sexual violence in conflict situations.
In the PEV, the Director of Public Prosecutions said that although there was significant sexual violence, prosecuting SGBV was hampered by poor investigations and lack of tools and facilities to collect and preserve evidence. Prosecutors lacked appropriate training and skills.
Out of 6,081 files relating to the violence, only 24 were prosecuted. Out of the 24, only 11 were related to SGBV.
Judges from Nigeria said their government is rehabilitating some of the Chibok schoolgirls abducted by the militant group Boko Haram in April 2014. Some of the girls who returned are pregnant and others have been radicalised.
“The [Boko Haram] leaders who were captured by our armies should be prosecuted for rape and abduction,” they said.