KATHMANDU, MAR 28 -
A high-level committee formed to monitor and investigate cases of violence against women (VAW) some three months ago will finally be making its report public. The report, which is expected to come out in two weeks, has blamed existing laws and legal loopholes, negligence of concerned bodies, lack of a smooth investigative mechanism and impunity for the rise in cases of violence against women, members of the committee said.
Following an unprecedented rise in reported cases of VAW, former prime minister Baburam Bhattarai on December 30 had formed an eight member VAW probe team, led by a secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
“The report will recommend that the government undertake several reforms. There are many lapses in existing laws and its effective implementation,” said Raju Man Singh Malla, PMO secretary and member of the probe team.
According to committee members, the report further recommends that security forces be made more effective and capacitated to tackle such cases. Security
mechanisms should be made responsible, accountable and answerable to the public by providing required orientation and trainings, they said.
Additionally, the panel has suggested that more women be appointed as security personnel at women’s prisons and initiative forensic services.
Malla said that his team is working on a draft of the final report and will incorporate findings submitted by the various sub-committees working under the committee. He said that they have 15 more days to submit the report to the current head of government, Khil Raj Regmi.
The probe panel had already submitted its interim report to then prime minister Bhattarai. That draft had pinpointed faulty laws, negligence of state mechanisms, poor investigation and a lack of security as being responsible for the robbery and rape of Sita Rai (name changed), the murders of Shiwa Hasami of Bardiya district‚ Bindu Kumari of Bara district, the alleged murder of Saraswoti Subedi of Anamnagar and the disappearance of Chhori Maya Maharjan of Kathmandu. These were the five emblematic cases of VAW raised by civil society.
The interim report had recommended amendments to immigration laws as trafficked women were being traumatised at the airport. Similarly, it mentioned the need for a special mechanism to oversee and monitor such cases and asked for a ‘Gender Based Violence Elimination Fund’ to rescue victims and provide medical facilities. It further alleged that existing governmental services for victims are understaffed, ill-equipped and ineffective.
Posted on: 2013-03-29 09:06
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