Post-rape medicolegal service provision and policy in East Africa: a scoping review protocol

Abstract

Background Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) is an epidemic that continues to affect both men and women in East Africa. Despite the high prevalence of SGBV in this region, sexual offense policies are often unclear, poorly enforced, or completely lacking. When policies do exist practitioners who assist survivors in the aftermath of the violation often are unaware of them, or may not implement them for a host of reasons (e.g., culture, personal beliefs, and resource limitations). This scoping review seeks to evaluate the literature on existing sexual offense policies in East Africa and understand the consequences of its implementation, or lack thereof, on a survivor’s justice and medical and psychological wellbeing. Methods This scoping review will be guided by the amended Arksey and O’Malley framework recommendations (Levac et al., Implementation Science. 2010) and the 2015 Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines (Peters et al., Joanna Briggs Institute Reviewer’s Manual, 2020). The results will be presented using the adapted Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis: Extension for Scoping Reviews chart (PRISMA-ScR). The search strategy for this scoping review will include entering search terms into electronic databases, including PubMed, SCOPUS, CINAHL Plus, The British Library, and Web of Science. A “cited by” search will be conducted, which will also include entering references from the reference lists from other articles. Grey literature will be included in the review, which will be identified through searching individual country’s government websites, and other websites, such as the World Health Organization and the United Nations Human Rights Council. All references will be exported to Endnote library. Two independent reviewers will screen titles, abstracts, and full articles. Thematic analysis will be used to evaluate the included articles. Discussion Understanding the legal and regulatory context of SGBV in East Africa and its associations with service provision will generate knowledge on implications for wellbeing. This information can be used to evaluate potential human rights violations and inform future policy. Systematic review registration Open Science Framework https://osf.io/vh3gm

A Systematic Review of Criminal Justice Initiatives to Strengthen the Criminal Investigation and Prosecution of Sexual Violence in East Africa

“…Countries included in the studies were Zambia ( n = 7), Rwanda ( n = 3), Malawi ( n = 3), Uganda ( n = 1), Sudan ( n = 1), and Zimbabwe ( n = 1). This finding is similar to that of other reviews conducted in East Africa, which also found that the most studied country in the region regarding SV is Kenya (S. Rockowitz et al, 2021).…”

“…The provider will document the crime, the injuries, and forensic evidence on an official government form (i.e., the Post Rape Care form) (Olson et al, 2022). Moreover, survivors of SV must disclose to medical providers that they have been violated to receive free medical services (S. R. Rockowitz et al, 2021).…”

A Scoping Review on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Medicolegal Service Provision in East Africa

“…We originally sought to review research on service provision as well as existing regulations and policies surrounding SGBV medical and legal services in East Africa ( Rockowitz et al, 2021a ); however, subsequent literature searches returned few academic papers on SGBV regulations and policies in East Africa countries. Per recommendations of Levac et al(2010) , to envision the intended outcome of the study while also considering the feasibility of the research, we modified our original research questions and focused solely on service provision in the region rather than service provision and policy.…”