PANAJI
The Goa State State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (Goa SCPCR) has held a series of deliberations with stakeholders and government officials in a bid to up the safety net and tackle the different aspects of providing protection to children.
On Friday, the Commission Chairman Peter Borges chaired a joint meeting at the conference hall of the State Secretariat where protocols of medico-legal care for POCSO victims was deliberated.
The meet focused on identifying gaps in current practices which needed to be plugged through the feedback received from various stakeholders and further improvements which can be effected in them.
The commission said in a statement that apart from the members of the Commission, the meeting was also attended by Superintendent of Police, Women & Child unit, Director of Prosecution, doctors from the pediatrics, forensic medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, Associate Professor of Forensic Medicine, Hospicio, officials of the Child Welfare Committees (North Goa & South Goa), Victim Assistance Units and other stakeholders.
Borges highlighted at the meeting the dual role that all health providers have to play in response to sexual violence -- providing therapeutic care to survivors including addressing their sexual, reproductive, and mental health problems -- besides also having to play a critical role in the response of the criminal justice system by collecting forensic evidence for the investigation and prosecution.
Borges urged the stakeholders to ensure forensic procedures and criminal justice processes respect survivors’ physical and mental integrity and dignity and called for a ‘survivor-centred approach’ which prioritizes the rights, choices and needs of the victim.
The meeting recommended SOPs to be formulated by DHS to ensure coordination of medico-legal services to victims of sexual violence between health care providers, forensic medicine, forensic lab services, police and the legal system including lawyers and judges.
The meeting also suggested capacity building of professionals involved in the provision of medico-legal services and skills and knowledge related to their function within the child protection system, in addition to other competencies that all those working with victims of sexual violence should possess.
Another recommendation made included minimum requirements for the health facilities offering clinical management of sexual assault and proper mechanisms for documenting transfer of specimens (chain of custody): what, to whom and when transfer occurred, including storage of specimens.
