As government strengthens mechanisms to fight and prevent crimes, defilement continues to top the Gender Based Violence (GBV) crime list with 604 cases registered over the last four months.According to the police GBV statistics, obtained by The New Times, 1244 cases were recorded between January and April this year, with assault (205) and rape (93) in that order, the other crimes high on the list.The report indicates that nine women and five men were killed by their spouses in the same period.The Eastern Province continues to top other parts of the country with 356 cases followed by the Southern Province which recorded 258 cases in the reporting period, while the Western Province recorded least with 154.Police attributes the high number of cases to the increased anti-GBV campaigns, which has seen the public coming out to report such cases, which went unreported in the past.This, according to police, explains why GBV related crimes increased by over 4.6 per cent from last year.Police Spokesperson, Theos Badege said the anti GBV campaigns have been successful, adding that they are now shifting from “fighting to prevention.” “We want to put much emphasis on fighting things like drug abuse, which is blamed for most other crimes,” said Badege.The Governor of the Eastern Province, Odette Uwamariya, however, was non-committal on the matter, when contacted, saying she had to first consult to know if she was the right person to comment on the issue.Several campaigns have been conducted, especially among the youth in the country to fight and prevent drug abuse such as consumption and trading of marijuana and illicit brew which are said to be the major stimulants to GBV crimes.The United Nations, recently commended Rwanda for taking the lead in the region in the fight against GBV and implementing international policies to end this vice.Rwanda is among the few countries with a steering committee to implement the UN resolution 1325, spearheaded by the National Police and Rwanda Defence Forces.The UN resolution 1325 aims at protecting women and girls during and after armed conflicts, and to fully involve females in conflict prevention, management and resolution, peace building and reconciliation.To implement the resolution, the police, military and the Rwanda Correctional Service established gender desks, with the police decentralising it at all police stations across the country.The establishment of ISANGE One-Stop Centre, which provides free medical services to victims of GBV and initiatives in peacekeeping operations, are other measures which were undertaken to combat the crime.
