Establishing Gender Sensitive Witness and Victim Protection Measures in Complex Criminal Cases

Abstract

The justice system relies heavily on evidence to establish the commission of a crime. In most complex criminal cases such as human trafficking and terrorism this evidence are not readily or easily accessible for a number of factors. One of such reason is that most times victims may be dead and so cannot give oral testimony of what happened to them. Other reasons that were the victim or witnesses of complex crimes are children or women they are usually vulnerable and are over taken with fear of what may happen to them or members of their family if they reveal the truth of what they know. For this reason, it is difficult for them to step out to give evidence to the police not to talk of give oral testimony in the open court of what they witnessed. Where in the cause of an investigation of a crime the police however stumbles into human evidence who witnessed the commission of a crime or is a victim it is the duty of both the investigator and the prosecutor to protect such vital witness knowing how sensitive and vital their evidence would help to bring about closure on the perpetuators of the crime. This paper identifies the challenges of witnesses and victims of complex crimes, in supporting the justice system by giving evidence of the commission of a crime without being protected by the State. For this reason, the paper proffers solutions on witness protection measures that can be made available to them.

Keywords: Victim, witness, vulnerable witness

DOI: 10.7176/JLPG/112-11

Publication date:August 31^st 2021