National Guidelines on Management of Sexual Violence in Kenya

Forensic Management
1. Introduction
Forensic management is essential in helping survivors of sexual violence access justice
through judicial processes. Proper management of evidence helps in presenting
credible evidence to Court to prove that sexual violence indeed occurred and link the
perpetrator to the crime.
This chapter elaborates on the procedures of forensic management while highlighting
the processes of collecting, handling and preserving evidence.
Definitions
Forensic Examination i s a medical assessment conducted in the knowledge of
the possibility of judicial proceedings in the future requiring medical opinion.
Medical practitioners and designated persons: Medical practitioner means a
practitioner registered in accordance with section 6 of the ‘Medical Practitioners
and Dentists Act’.
Designated persons: This includes a nurse registered under section 12(1) of the
‘Nurses Act’ or clinical officer registered under section 7 of the ‘Clinical Officers
(training, registration and licensing) Act’.
Evidence: This is the means by which disputed facts are proved to be true or
untrue in any trial in the court of law or an agency that functions like a court.
Forensic evidence: this is the evidence collected during a medical examination.
The role of forensic evidence in criminal investigation includes the following:
(i) To link or delink the perpetrator to the crime. (Aside from SV, including
deliberate HIV/AIDS infection, which constitutes another crime on its own); (ii)
To ascertain that SV occurred; (iii) To help in collection of data on perpetrators
of SV.
In most cases, forensic evidence is the only thing that can link the perpetrator to
the crime. E.g. where the incident is reported a long time after it has happened
or where the survivor was pregnant.
Physical evidence: This refers to any object, material or substance found in
connection with an investigation that helps establish the identity of the offender,
the circumstances of the crime or any other fact deemed to be important to the
process. Physical evidence may include: used condoms, cigarette butts, ropes,
masking tape etc. Physical evidence can be collected from the survivor as well
as the environment (crime scene location).
26