Medico-legal Structure
The medico-legal sector is responsible for conducting medico-legal examinations in cases of traffic accidents, alcohol and drug abuse, gun violence, bomb blasts, post mortems of all unnatural deaths (suicide and homicide) and rape/sodomy (of both the survivor and the accused). Medico-legal Officers (MLOs) who can only be found at designated Government hospitals conduct these examinations and issue medico-legal certificates which corroborate the survivor’s testimony in the form of medical evidence suggesting such things as the use of force, coercion or physical violence during sexual intercourse by the perpetrator or resistance by the victim.
Below is the reporting structure which outlines the function of each stakeholder and the reporting line for each in the medico-legal sector of Karachi.
Responsibilities generally fulfilled by MLOs include:
• Examining the injured
• Providing treatment to injured/client (basic prophylactics such as aspirin for aches and pains)
• Taking X-rays
• Preparing Medico-legal Certificates
• Conducting post-mortems/prepare post-mortem reports
• Providing testimony during court proceedings
• Being present at medico-legal centre during duty hours
• Working in close collaboration with law enforcement officials , such as the Police
There are currently only 5 female MLOs (only female MLOs are authorized to examine female survivors) and 24 male MLOs, catering to a population of approximately 18 million in Karachi. ML departments are active for only 3 Government hospitals out of nine in Karachi, namely Civil Hospital, Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and Jinnah Post-graduate Medical Center (as opposed to 14 in Lahore, all of which are active), and on average 350 cases of female rape and 50 cases of male rape (sodomy) are reported to the medico-legal departments each year from Karachi.
The Sindh Government’s Health Policy, 2005, issued by the Health Department, Government of Sindh, assures that legislative steps would be taken to ‘revamp’ the ML system in Karachi. It promises that all minor government hospitals in Karachi (six) would be made fully functional and active and that all MLOs would be required to take six-month training before they are recruited. It also asserts that Forensic Science Laboratories would be established at the Police Surgeon’s office and that the office would be equipped with various facilities necessary for an efficient working of the department (for text on the Health Policy for the province of Sindh, click here).
