Police boss cautions officers on ethics

Sep 30, 2010

THE assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of research, Julius Sharita, has decried the lack of ethics among Police officers who ridicule victims of gender-based sex violence.

By Josephine Maseruka

THE assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of research, Julius Sharita, has decried the lack of ethics among Police officers who ridicule victims of gender-based sex violence.

“We often hear complaints from victims that when they report such cases to the Police, they are scorned, rebuked and even chased away. This is regrettable and unethical,” Sharita said.

He made the remarks while giving Police experience on the implementation of the protocol on the suppression and prevention of sexual violence against women and children.at a workshop at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kampala.The workshop was organised by the Agency for Cooperation and Research in Development.

Participants, who were mainly women from civil society organisations and Parliament, demanded that there should be alternative centres manned by trained female officers where cases of domestic violence are reported.

Sharita, however, amused the participants when he said the Police often gets reports of sexual abuse from men.

He said lack of medical reports for victims of sexual abuse has lead to failure to prosecute cases, which causes stigmatisation.

A report presented by Jeroline Akubu showed that in Uganda, the magnitude of gender-based sexual violence extends beyond war and conflict areas.

“In non-conflict areas, more than 80% of women have experienced physical, sexual or psychological violence at some point,” the report said.

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