Sexual Assault through a Forensic Lens: Understanding Drug Facilitated Sexual Assault Issues in Nepal

Abstract

Sexual assaults and drug facilitated sexual assaults (DFSA) are becoming a serious
problem in Nepal. The increasing number of DFSA cases being reported in the
country highlight the urgent need to focus our efforts on several areas, including:
(i) capacity building on crime scene examination and forensic analysis of sexual
assault cases, (ii) moral and sexual education, and public awareness programmes
in schools, and (iii) revised policy and practice in handling of sexual assault cases.
Therefore, our work is focused on understanding changing public perception and
attitude in society as well as shifting behaviour among law enforcement agencies
such as police and judiciary.
In relation to these issues, we have been working collaboratively for the past few
years with different organisations and stakeholder groups. Some examples include:
(i) running various events to increase awareness (e.g. TV programmes, newspaper
articles and interviews, extra-curricular activities in schools); (ii) organising
capacity building training to forensic scientists; and (iii) organising workshops to
bring together a variety of stakeholders. Here, in this paper, we present our key
insights, experience and lessons learnt from these activities. We highlight the
need to expand the collaboration effectively among the key stakeholders due to
the complex nature of DFSA cases. We also recommend increasing visibility and
expansion of One Stop Crisis Management Centres throughout the country with
focus on hard-to-reach areas.