This archive report was first published on 25 August 2020.
Kenya: Policare to Offer Priceless Dignity to GBV Survivors ¶
Published on August 25, 2020
Ms Zipporah Nderitu, a Superintendent of Police, has been working tirelessly to make the police service more victim-friendly, particularly for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).
Having spent 22 years in the police service, Ms Nderitu has witnessed firsthand the trauma that victims endure in their quest for justice.
"The current mechanisms are not victim-friendly. They are not people-centred," she observes.
Ms Nderitu's desire to change the narrative led her to conceptualise a new approach, which she calls Policare. This one-stop SGBV centre model has been adopted by the Kenya Police Service and is set to revolutionise the way SGBV cases are handled.
Under Policare, victims will have access to all necessary services within the same premises, including medical, legal, and psychosocial services.
The centre will also pioneer intelligence-led interviews, where staff will be cautious of the victim's trauma and make efforts to ease it while serving them.
Ms Nderitu's vision is to restore the dignity of victims and make them trust the police once again.
"I want to restore the victims' dignity," she says. "and that they can trust the police once again."
The centre will be operational in 90 days, as per the directive from the National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC).
Ms Nderitu's journey to make Policare a reality has not been easy, with many opposing her idea. However, she remained committed to her vision and has finally seen it gain momentum.
