Lawyer exposes manipulation of age assessment in GBV cases
A human rights lawyer has accused some medics and police personnel of conniving with parents to falsify girls’ age assessments to victimize men of sexual offense.
Godfrey Victor, who is the Executive Director for Justice and Human Rights Observatory did not specify those involved, but he said the practice is common in the court.
“We are surprised to see our medical institutions and the individuals within the police conniving to commit an offense again by providing assessment age of a person under the age,” said Victor while speaking to Eye Radio’s Sundown Program on Monday.
He also criticized the police and medical personnel for unprofessionally displaying their roles.
“This is a person who is above 18 years, but the father will go to the police, the police will so go to Juba Teaching Hospital for instance, go and make assessment of age.”
“They will go and re-assess the age and drop the age to fall between the age that rape, somebody can be convicted but it is also the problem of our community, you have to come to seek for a lawyer.”
In June, the high court threw out a case Chol Ayud Chol, 26, who was accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl at Thongpiny residential area in Juba over forgery of the victim’s age.
The complainant who is the uncle of the survivor allegedly claimed the girl was born in 2005.
However, following a second assessment, Chol’s defense lawyer, said the certificate of the girl indicated that she was born on 1/1/2000.
The evidence, according to the court created doubts, which according to criminal litigation, favors the accused on presumption of innocence.
Last week, Juba High Court Judge Francis Amum disclosed that 95% of survivors of gender-based violence are school-going girls.
Amum who often presides over the Gender-Based Violence and Juvenile court said 110 men are currently behind bars for committing sex-related offenses.
Another 200 are still pending trial since the courts were established nearly two years ago.
