In Summary
- Survivors of Homicide, femicide and Suicide facing mental health challenges .
- Many victims feel re-victimized
- insensitive media reporting adding to the trauma experienced by victims
Femicide is the “intentional murder of women because they are women.
In most cases Survivors of femicide, suicide, homicide feel re-victimized.
Currently there exists no policy or legal mechanism to address their issues.
READ also: Activists, Women Protest in Towns Against Femicides
Insensitive Media Reporting on Femicide
Appearing on Ghetto radio’s Sunday afternoon show dubbed the Salon Faith Goko a therapist noted that insensitive media reporting can also add to the trauma experienced by victims.
‘’Media reporting is very crucial ,we have seen cases where individuals post pictures online without putting into consideration what the families are going through ’’ said Goko
Further to that she says there needs creation of measures allowing victims to recover from physical and psychological traumas suffered because of the crime
‘’Families affected by femicide need support, the government needs to cater for their free therapy sessions since what they have gone through is very traumatizing ‘’ added the Kiambu based psychologist.
Faith Goko says that most femicide cases the perpetrators are partners could be boyfriends,husbands or ex partners
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Survivors of Femicide Traumatic Experience
Mathew Mutiso a Mental Health advocate says that survivors of femicide, homicide and suicide in some cases experience Post-traumatic stress disorder and Complex post-traumatic stress disorder
He says this is also a childhood adversity especially if the deceased was a mother,sibling to a person below 18yrs
A parent killing the other one has several long-term effects on mental and physical health.
Post-traumatic stress symptoms have been correlated with recurring thoughts, images, sound of the
moment of murder, sleep disorders, inability to bond emotionally, anxious attachment, denial, fear
of re-experiencing the incident, lazy concentration, and poor academic performance, especially for
children who witnessed the murder
Children who display a picture of psychosis after the incident certainly need to receive psychiatric support
Further to that He says Police officers need to be trained adequately while reporting on such cases
‘’Police officers need to be accompanied by a counselor or a social worker or preferably a trauma informed person ‘’ says the mental health advocate
Faith Goko notes that in cases where children are left behind relevant institutions and courts should ensure that the child’s custody is resolved and parental authority suspended when the parent is a suspect in a femicide case.
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