Medico-legal report: Poor facilities seen as a hindrance

Doctors, lawyers stress need for improvement.

LAHORE:

Representatives of several non-government organisations (NGO) working against assaults against women and children called for better medico-legal procedures in the Punjab.

They were attending a colloquium on Friday and suggested several ways to upgrade the system. The discussion was organised by ActionAid in partnership with Sahil, Strenthening participatory Organisations, South Asian Partnership-Pakistan, Shirkat Gah, Aurat Foundation and Home Net Pakistan.

“There should be a separate medial cadre to carry out the medico-legal examinations,” Dr Naseem Haider, an associate professor at Mayo Hospital, said. He went over a five-step process from initial inquiry to the enforcement of laws. The five steps are inquiry by the police, writing a proper case history, examining the victims’ clothes, identifying the dimension of the injury and the application of the relevant laws. Medical officers attending the discussion said that the defence lawyers often asked them irrelevant questions to pressure them. They also said that women medical officers faced security threats and were often accused of favouring the victim.

One of the lawyers pointed out that the illegible handwriting of the medical officers led to difficulties in following-up case.  Shehzad Hassan Sheikh, the Lahore Bar Association president, said that the medico-legal officers needed special training and a sense of responsibility in recording details. “They must realise that even a slight negligence can ruin someone’s life,” he said.

He urged the doctors to be careful in collecting evidence. He said the samples should be properly sealed before being sent to the departments concerned. “Regretfully, very few doctors know how to do the job appropriately,” he said. He pointed out frequent delays in reports of chemical test, saying that there had been cases when reports of the laboratory tests were made available as late as a year.

Dawod Saqlain, the ActionAid provincial manager, said that lady health workers be made part of the medico-legal procedures in rural and semi-urban areas. He said that in rural health centres, women seeking medical care after the medico-legal examination were provided only first aid, which, he said, was often not sufficient.

“Only serious cases are referred to the district hospitals as tehsil hospitals are not well equipped,” he said.

The participants discussed the lack of DNA testing facilities in most districts and the lack of screening facilities in some. Screening facilities are currently only available in Jhelum, Multan, Lahore and Sargodha districts.

Iftikhar Mubarik, a Sahil representative, said that emergency contraceptive measures were taken at DHQ hospitals to avoid forced pregnancies. He said it was alarming that the rape kits were not available at DHQs and THQs.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 28^th, 2011.