The National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC) has called on the government to allocate a budget for Policare centres in an effort to provide one-stop support to survivors of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV).
Speaking during a visit to the Nanyuki Policare Centre in Laikipia County, NGEC Chairperson Rehema Jaldesa said such centres remained ill-equipped and under-staffed to provide efficient services envisaged when they were set up due to lack of funds.
“The policare centres should be funded to pay the staff since not all are police officers,” said the Chairperson.
She added that the policare is understaffed, the equipment needed also not there. She stated that it is the high time we as government take charge and not leave the work which should be done by government to partners.
The idea of putting up such centres within police stations was meant to reduce the stigma associated with reporting gender-based violence and also make justice easily accessible to individuals whose rights are violated.
Nanyuki Policare Centre was established in 2022 at a cost of Sh9 million in a partnership between the United Kingdom government through British Army Training Unit in Kenya (Batuk) and the National Police Service. But four years later, the centre which was meant to be a pilot project that would pave way for opening up of similar centres across the country is yet to achieve its objectives fully
NGEC is further calling on the government to Gazette the centres and grant them semi-autonomous status with powers to hire its own support staff to assist police officers in delivery of justice to the survivors. “As a commission, we are saying that policare should have a separate budget line so that they can do what they are mandated to. Policare is not a department within the National Police, we beseech the National Assembly to gazette it,” noted Ms Jaldesa.
The commission also opposed any plans to put up new centres in other parts of the country and instead called for strengthening the few existing ones to be models of excellence before any roll out can be undertaken.
“Around the country, there are policare centres done by both private entities and non-state actors, but none are complete and operational. I am appealing to everyone that, instead of having fragmented policare, let us have one, which is a fully functional centre,” she urged.
Laikipia Deputy Governor, Reuben Kamuri, pledged adequate county government commitment aimed to ensure the facility was well equipped to support Sexual Gender Based Violence Victims.
By Muturi Mwangi
