Formative Assessment to establish gaps in the Justice System's response to Online Child Sexual Exploitation in Kenya

The SCROL-R project commissioned a formative assessment aimed at establishing the gaps at each link of the justice system chain to inform the delivery of the SCROL-R programmeś specialized training. The specific objectives of the formative assessment were: To conduct an analysis of the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) in relation to OCSE by law enforcement agencies; To establish the capacity of law enforcement agencies in investigating and prosecuting OCSE cases; To establish the level of response by law enforcement agencies to address OCSE cases from intake, investigation, prosecution, to adjudication.

Among the key findings of the assessment included:

• There were hardly any OCSE cases reported to the police stations that formed the study area;
• There is a wide knowledge gap among station level police officers, which has a direct impact on their ability to identify and investigate OCSE cases. 
• Police officers at stations consider investigation of online offences to be the purview of DCI - investigation is both complex and lengthy.
• The Anti Human Trafficking Child Protection Unit (Specialised DCI unit that handles OCSE) receives an estimated 1,300 OCSE cyber tips monthly - over 60 per day
• Not all OCSE tip-offs to the AHT-CPU can be fully and comprehensively investigated. 
• There are very few OCSE cases currently in court compared to the volumes of tip-offs reported to the AHT-CPU. 
• Officers at the AHT-CPU are well trained on all aspects of OCSE unlike their counterparts at the station level.  
• The assessment revealed limited collaboration between station-level officers and specialized units, such as the Anti-Human Trafficking and Child Protection Unit (AHT-CPU), although multi-agency cooperation is crucial for effective case management. Additionally, many OCSE cases go uninvestigated, particularly those with a digital component.

The project recommends tailored capacity-building for police officers, prosecutors, and judicial officers, specific to the knowledge gaps while focusing on child protection, the legal framework, multi-agency collaboration, and handling digital evidence; Development of an OCSE Case digest for practitioners, public prosecutors and judicial officers; Structured multi-agency approaches to collaboration and service delivery to avoid duplicity and promote synergy of efforts taken in preventing and addressing OCSE cases; Strengthening case management systems and legislative reforms are essential for improving the justice system's response to OCSE cases and ensuring timely justice for child victims.