The advocates for justice for victims of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) have objected to the decision by local governments to start registration of such victims, questioning its legality and assurance of confidentiality.

Following directives from the Ministry of Home Affairs, a number of local governments have started collecting applications from the victims of conflict-related sexual violence.

The applications have been called from women and girls who faced sexual violence at the hands of state security forces and then Maoist rebels, but whose cases are missing from the state’s records of victims. Since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) is the authorised body to collect the complaints, advocates for the victims doubt the legitimacy of the applications solicited by the local governments.

“What will be the legality of the applications? Will they be recognised by the TRC? As far as I know, the TRC will not accept them,” said Devi Khadka, coordinator of the National Association of Conflict Rape Victims, a network of CRSV victims.

The government issued a circular to the local governments to collect the applications with the primary objective of providing relief and compensation to the insurgency-era victims of rape and sexual assault. The state continues to neglect such victims. Neither have they been recognised by the state nor have they received any relief from the government.

As many as 63,718 complaints have been registered with the TRC. However, only 314, less than half a percent of the total, are related to rape and sexual violence. Very few victims lodged complaints as they were not convinced that their records would be kept confidential, according to Khadka.

“We are not convinced that the local governments can maintain confidentiality. Unlike other victims, they cannot come out on the open because of the social stigma associated,” she said. “Most victims of rape and sexual violence haven’t revealed their ordeals even to their husbands and close family members. Doing so means breaking their families.”

If Khadka’s claim is anything to go by, seven insurgency-era victims of rape and sexual violence from a local unit in the Sudurpaschim Province are in trouble as it could not keep their secrets.

The representatives at the local level, however, say they are working to support the victims as per the federal government’s circular. “Some 35 victims have applied at our municipality. We are serious about maintaining their confidentiality,” Tilakram Lamsal, mayor at Thakurbaba Municipality in Bardiya, told the Post. He, however, said he was unaware whether the TRC or the federal government will recognise the applications they have collected.

Officials at the home ministry also say they are not sure about the legality of the complaints. Radha Kumari Shrestha, an officer with the Peace Promotion Department at the Ministry of Home Affairs, said they got the circular to register the victims for their documentation and to provide relief and reparations. “I am not sure whether the TRC will own up the applications,” she told the Post, adding that respective local governments are responsible for maintaining confidentiality.

Through the national budget the federal government has announced plans to create a peace fund of Rs1 billion to provide compensation and financial support to conflict victims. Similarly, different local governments also have allocated budgets to support conflict victims including the CRSV. After months-long discussions, cross-party lawmakers have agreed to allow three months for the registration of the complaints by the victims who missed out on doing so in the past.

The victims say the government and parties should prioritise endorsing the amendment bill to the Enforced Disappearances Enquiry, Truth and Reconciliation Commission Act, which will formally open the doors for the TRC to receive the complaints.

Laxmi Pokharel, a human rights lawyer with the International Court of Jurists, said the idea of allowing the local governments to keep records of victims is not wrong. However, there are no proper mechanisms at the local units to safely keep the records of the victims of rape and sexual violence.

“There is no uniformity among the local governments in providing relief. While some are working actively, several others are doing nothing. This is leading to disparity,” she told the Post. “The federal government should formulate a uniform policy in providing relief, one that will be applicable across the country.”

Currently, the Khadka-led organisation has been continuously working to screen the physical and mental health of CRSV victims. A recent medical test conducted among 38 rape victims from the Maoist insurgency showed 11 of them had cancer. Similarly, an additional eight need immediate surgery to remove their uterus. “Further tests are being conducted to ascertain the stage of their cancer. This is very serious,” said Khadka.

In the medical tests conducted in December last year, an overwhelming 70 percent of the 127 victims had one or more reproductive health-related complications. The health condition of five of them was bad enough to need regular tests and treatment.