Police can do more to curb femicide

The revelation by the National Police Service that about 100 women and girls have been killed in the past three months as the femicide crisis escalates not only calls for urgent action but is also clearly a well defined strategy.

The development comes amid calls for accountability and swift prosecution of the perpetrators of these crimes.

Over the past two years, cases of murder and manslaughter involving girls and women have steadily increased alongside those of abductions and enforced disappearances.

The numbers paint a grim picture of the safety of women and girls.

The troubling trend highlights the urgent need for focused action and collaboration to tackle the widespread problem of gender-based violence.

Data from the African Data Hub shows that the number of femicide cases grew from 20 in 2016 to a peak of 95 in 2018 and 75 last year.

But the police numbers indicate that this could be the worst year for women and girls.
Unfortunately, although police bosses say they are investigating the reported cases and prosecuting the perpetrators, the reality is something different.

For the desired results to be achieved, action should start at local police stations. Officers are poorly trained to handle such cases or corrupt and cannot investigate reported cases without their palms being greased first.

There is an urgent need for specialised training for officers at local stations. The officers should be trained to recognise the signs of potential femicide and the unique challenges faced by women, while promoting a victim-centred approach to law enforcement.

Cases abound of victims who have ended up being killed by their estranged lovers or business partners after reporting threats to their lives to police and being ignored.

No action has ever been taken against police officers who ignored or failed to investigate reported cases of threats against individuals who ended up being killed.

Police hardly take seriously reported cases of threats against women and girls, or possible signs of gender-based violence unless they involve influential personalities.

Usually, cases are only recorded in the Occurrence Book, followed by lacklustre investigations days after the murders were committed. The police have a responsibility to come up with a strategy to end these heinous killings.