POLICE
For many survivors of gender-based violence, the police are the first formal justice institution they encounter after deciding to report.
What happens at that point can shape the entire course of a case.
How a complaint is received, whether immediate protection risks are identified, how quickly evidence is gathered, whether a survivor is referred for medical attention, how witnesses are interviewed, and how an investigation is documented can all affect both survivor safety and the possibility of successful prosecution.
These issues are at the centre of our engagement today with the Nigeria Police Force in Kano, where discussions focus on strengthening the response to reports of violence against women and children, improving investigation and evidence handling, and addressing the institutional gaps that can weaken cases before they reach prosecution.
The engagement draws on recurring challenges identified through our work with survivors and the justice system, particularly the need for a response that combines effective investigation with respect for the dignity, safety and protection needs of the person reporting violence.
Strengthening the first formal response
Reporting violence can be difficult.
Survivors may arrive at a police station after experiencing trauma, pressure from family members or threats from the person accused of harming them. Children may depend entirely on adults to bring them forward. In some cases, considerable time may already have passed before a complaint reaches the police.
The first institutional response therefore matters.
Today’s discussion examines how complaints involving sexual and gender-based violence are received and the importance of ensuring that survivors are treated seriously and respectfully from the outset.
The manner in which initial information is obtained can affect both the survivor and the subsequent investigation. Repeated or insensitive questioning can compound trauma, while incomplete documentation at the reporting stage can create difficulties as a case progresses.
For children, additional safeguards are necessary. Interviews and interactions must take account of age, vulnerability and the need to avoid unnecessary repetition or intimidation.
The discussion reinforces the importance of survivor-sensitive procedures that allow police officers to obtain the information required for an investigation without subjecting survivors to further harm.
Improving investigation and evidence gathering
Effective prosecution depends heavily on the quality of the investigation that precedes it.
A central focus of today’s engagement is therefore the investigation of gender-based violence cases, including evidence gathering, documentation, witness management and the preparation of case files.
Sexual and gender-based violence cases can involve evidentiary challenges, particularly where reporting is delayed, offences occur in private settings or survivors face pressure after making a complaint.
These circumstances make thorough investigation particularly important.
The discussion considers the need for investigators to pursue available evidence systematically rather than placing an unreasonable burden on survivors to prove the case themselves.
This includes obtaining relevant statements, identifying witnesses where available, securing documentation, coordinating appropriately with medical institutions and ensuring that investigative steps are recorded clearly enough to support subsequent prosecutorial review.
Weaknesses during investigation may only become apparent after a file reaches prosecutors, by which time evidence may be more difficult to obtain or significant delays may already have occurred.
Stronger communication between investigators and prosecutors can help identify these gaps earlier and improve the quality of cases moving through the justice system.
Connecting survivors to medical and protection services
Police response does not begin and end with investigation.
A survivor reporting sexual or serious physical violence may require urgent medical attention. A child may need immediate safeguarding. Some survivors may face continuing threats or pressure from alleged perpetrators or family members. Others may require social welfare, psychosocial or legal support while an investigation continues.
Today’s engagement examines the importance of referral at the point of reporting.
Clear relationships between police, health facilities, social welfare services and other protection institutions can help ensure that a survivor’s immediate needs are addressed alongside the criminal investigation.
This is particularly important in cases of sexual violence, where delays in accessing healthcare can affect treatment and documentation.
Referral should also be accompanied by clarity about what happens next. Survivors should not be required to move repeatedly between institutions without information about why they are being referred or which agency assumes responsibility for a particular aspect of the response.
Police therefore occupy an important coordinating point in many cases, particularly where they are the first formal institution approached.
Protecting survivors from intimidation and interference
The period after reporting can create additional risks for survivors.
Family members, community actors or alleged perpetrators may attempt to influence the survivor, discourage participation in an investigation or pursue informal settlement after a complaint has already been made.
Children and survivors who are economically or socially dependent on others may be especially vulnerable to this pressure.
The discussion examines the importance of identifying these risks early and ensuring that attempts to intimidate, threaten or improperly interfere with survivors do not undermine investigations.
Protection requires coordination.
Where social welfare intervention is needed, the appropriate institution must be involved. Where a survivor faces an immediate threat, security considerations may arise. Where community or family mediation is proposed, it must not prevent the investigation of conduct that requires formal criminal-justice action.
A survivor’s decision to report should not expose her to additional danger or place responsibility on her to defend the integrity of the investigation.
Strengthening the transition from investigation to prosecution
Our engagement with the Kano State Ministry of Justice has already highlighted weaknesses that can arise when cases move from investigation to prosecution.
Today’s discussion examines that same transition from the perspective of the police.
Investigators and prosecutors perform different functions, but the quality of the relationship between them can significantly affect case progression.
Prosecutors require sufficiently developed case files and evidence to determine appropriate charges and proceed effectively. Investigators, in turn, benefit from clarity about evidentiary requirements and gaps that may need to be addressed before a case moves forward.
Improved communication can reduce avoidable delays, limit repeated requests for additional investigation and help prevent cases from remaining inactive between institutions.
This is one of the areas where broader coordination across Kano’s protection and justice system becomes particularly important.
Building a more accountable investigation pathway
Today’s engagement identifies several areas requiring sustained attention: the quality of first response, survivor-sensitive reporting procedures, stronger evidence gathering and documentation, timely referral for medical and protection services, protection from intimidation, and improved coordination between investigation and prosecution.
These are interconnected responsibilities.
A survivor-centred response does not mean lowering investigative standards. It means ensuring that effective investigation and survivor protection reinforce one another.
The police remain central to this process because they sit at the point where many allegations first enter the formal criminal justice system and where the foundation for subsequent prosecution is often established.
Strengthening police response is therefore essential to the wider effort to build a protection system in which reporting leads to a credible investigation, survivors are connected to the services they require, and cases move through the justice pathway with greater consistency and accountability.
The priority is to ensure that the decision to report becomes the beginning of an effective institutional response—not another point at which a survivor’s case loses momentum.