Guidance

Information for survivors of rape and sexual assault in Burkina Faso

Updated 20 September 2024

If you have been sexually assaulted, it is important to remember that it was not your fault. Rape and sexual assault is always wrong – no matter who commits it or where it happens. It is traumatic and it can affect you both physically and emotionally. Do not be afraid to get help.

This information is provided to help British nationals overseas make informed decisions about whether and how to:

• seek medical advice and attention
• report to local police
• engage with foreign legal authorities following a rape or other form of sexual assault overseas

For information on support available in the UK, see Rape and Sexual Assault: Returning to the UK

First steps

It is your choice about what you do next, but this information may help you in coming to a decision. The most important thing is to make sure that you are as safe as you can be. You can:

• contact the emergency police number in Burkina Faso on 17 (24/7 and toll free). Depending on where you are, the emergency police response will be either National Police or National Gendarmerie (military police). Please note: police response is faster in Ouagadougou than in other parts of Burkina Faso.
• contact the Centre for Care of Victims of Gender-based Violence on +226 80 001 287 (toll free number)
• you can contact the British High Commission in Accra on +233 302 213 200 who will be able to provide you with remote consular support, as there is no British embassy in Burkina Faso. Consular staff will be polite, patient, sensitive and non-judgmental, and can provide information on local police and medical procedures. Anything you tell them will be treated in the strictest confidence. They can contact your family or friends for you if you wish

If you want to report the incident to the police in Burkina Faso

If you would like assistance from the British High Commission in Accra, we will try to send a consular officer to support you, where timing and location allow. You will always be able to speak to trained consular staff on the telephone 24/7.

If you decide to report the incident, you have a number of options:

1. Report to the Ouagadougou Centre for Care of Victims of Gender-based Violence: This Centre is in the 2nd sub-commune of Ouagadougou and provides free, confidential, and holistic assistance, including medical, social assistance, psychological assistance, and legal assistance. This Centre have assigned medical officers/forensic examiners who will examine you and issue a medical report. It also has assigned judicial police officers who will respond to an assault. They also assist victims with pursuing legal action.
2. Report to the nearest public hospital for a medical examination/evidence collection. You will be issued a medical report which you can then take to the police.
3. Report to the nearest police station. Every police or gendarmerie station in Burkina Faso has an imbedded gender-based violence task force. The police will refer you to a public hospital for medical examination. The public medical officer/forensic examiner will send the medical report directly to the referring (judicial) police officer. - If you approach the police directly, you can also ask them to inform the British High Commission in Accra on +233 302 213 200.

If you choose to report the crime, try to do so as soon as possible, so forensic evidence can be retained.

Washing yourself or your clothes/sheets may make it difficult for the police or the forensic examiner to obtain forensic evidence. If you change your clothes, think about taking those you were wearing to the police or to the public forensic examiner. You may wish to preserve evidence by retaining items such as condoms, bedsheets, toothbrushes, or texts.

Tell the police if you think you have been drugged or if you suffered any kind of violence, coercion, or threat.

Insist you get a copy of the police report. In Burkina Faso, the police report will be conducted in French. You can request a translation of the police report, but at your own expense.

Homosexuality is not a crime in Burkina Faso, however, extramarital sex and adultery is a misdemeanour offence. Burkinabe law provides that anyone who sexually assaults a man or a woman can face criminal charges. There is a strong cultural bias against homosexuality, so it would be advisable in such cases to be accompanied by a trusted person when reporting such crimes to the police.

It is likely that the police will allow someone to accompany you. A consular officer may be able accompany you, where timing and location allow. You will always be able to speak to trained consular staff on the telephone 24/7.

If you do not want to report the incident to the police in Burkina Faso

The British High Commission in Accra will be able to help you. This includes helping you to contact your insurance company, your family, making arrangements to travel back to the UK and/or provide you with information on local support in the UK.

They can provide you with lists of English speaking medical facilities and lawyers.

It is your choice whether to report a crime, but if you do not report it, your case may not be investigated if there is a lack of forensic evidence.

In Burkina Faso, crimes should be reported in-person.

If you want to report the incident to the police in the UK

It is possible to report the crime to police in the UK. However, it is for foreign police forces to decide whether to investigate a crime in their jurisdiction. UK police forces cannot investigate crimes committed overseas.

If you report the incident to the police in the UK, it is likely that the police in the UK will treat it as a complaint rather than a report of a crime. It can therefore be very difficult to guarantee that any justice can be accessed without reporting the crime locally.

Please see Rape and Sexual Assault: Returning to the UK for more information.

Reporting the crime in Burkina Faso - what happens next?

If you are reporting a crime in Burkina Faso, the police will take a statement/report as to what has happened, and they will ask you for a description of the attacker.

If you change your clothes, think about taking those you were wearing to the police, as the police will keep any clothes, which may be evidence of your attack, to present to a forensic examiner, unless you have taken the clothes to the forensic examiner/medical officer yourself, in which case the forensic examiner will present them along with his report to the (judicial) police.

The police may decide to process your house or the location where the attack took place as a crime scene. They may also take your personal effects that can be used as proof of evidence.

The medical examination – what to expect

All government hospitals/private clinics in Burkina Faso treat victims of rape and sexual assault. It is advisable to go to a government hospital for evidential purposes as prosecution courts only accept medical forms from these hospitals.

The medical officer on duty carries out the examination and sends the report to the police. You may also ask for a copy of the report.

A consular officer can accompany you to the hospital, where timing and location allow. You will always be able to speak to trained consular staff on the telephone 24/7.

Treatment

Government hospital/ private clinic medical staff can give you advice on “Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP)” medication, a treatment that may prevent HIV infection. This can be prescribed at any hospital. More information on risks is available on the NHS website..

HIV PEP medication needs to be taken within 72 hours of the incident for it to be effective. The NHS may be able to commence or continue the 28-day treatment on return to the UK.

In Burkina Faso, emergency contraception can be bought from local pharmacies or given to you at the hospital as part of the emergency treatment. However, the pharmacy may ask for a prescription depending on your age. It may also be provided to you at the Centre for the Care of Victims of GBV. It needs to be taken within 72 hours of the incident for it to be effective.

Hospital care in a government hospital is not free of charge in Burkina Faso. Therefore, you may be asked to pay for your treatment. You can make a claim through your insurance. If you use the Centre for the Care of Victims of GBV, you will receive medical care, free of charge.

If you have had medication administered overseas, you may wish to keep the label or make a note of the name of the medication, so that you can tell your local health provider the details of your medication when you return home.

Police investigations in Burkina Faso – what to expect

You will be interviewed and expected to provide a signed statement. During the interview, the police will determine whether the attacker is known/identifiable.

If the attacker is known/identified, the police will summon them. The summons will be delivered to the attacker’s known address. If the attacker fails to respond to the summons, the police will locate and forcibly bring them to the police station.

If the attacker is unknown/unidentified, the police will investigate based on description and identifying details provided by you during interview or evidence collected at the crime scene.

You will be taken to the police station for identification once the accused is apprehended, this may be done in an open room/space, and therefore, both you and the accused may be able to see each other during identification.

The police may take you and the accused to the scene of the crime for a reconstruction of the case. At this stage, you may come into contact with the accused. To avoid any unnecessary trauma, you may request to not have contact with the accused.

An arrest in Burkina Faso may take a few years. There is no limitation to how long this can take. For things to progress, the police enquiry must be complete, and a suspect arrested. This information will then be passed on to the Prosecutor of Faso (Standing Magistrate), along with the offender.

The Prosecutor of Faso will determine if the case has merit. If he determines the case has merit and enough evidence to try the case immediately, or if the case requires further investigation.

Depending on the outcome, there may be an appeal.

If the case requires further investigation, the Prosecutor of Faso will refer it to the correctional chamber of the Court of Major Jurisdiction so the case is prepared for trial.

You can leave the country at this point. If you do decide to leave the country, you will have to provide the investigating judge with a reliable postal address and contact number so that you can be informed when preparatory hearings are scheduled. Contact details should also include an email address and, if available, WhatsApp details. When the case is scheduled for trial, you will be notified. The accused will be brought to court and trial will start.

Court procedures – what to expect

If the accused is ordered to trial, you will be expected to testify in court. You will have to testify in Burkina Faso, as testifying from the UK can be a difficult process and requires approval from the court. However, victims do not need to be present at every court session. In case of impediment or in the event of extreme vulnerability medically noted, you can be represented by a person of your choice or by an approved association for the defence of human rights.

If you wish to drop charges, you will have to write to the Prosecutor/police to say that you do not wish to proceed with the case. Charges may be dropped at any time, from police enquiries to trial. However, the Prosecutor/ police can still insist that the case be heard as the final decision rests with them. Indictment cases cannot be withdrawn.

The accused party can bring a civil action for damages against you if they believe that you have made a false accusation. If accusations are found to be false, police may also prosecute for ‘deceit of a public officer’.

How can my case be taken to trial?

The Prosecutor of Faso decides if a case goes to court. But you can also take your case directly to court if you file a complaint with civil claims. In this case, you will file the complaint directly with the President of the Court of Major Jurisdiction who will forward it with no further delay to an Investigating Judge.

There is no time delay for reporting a crime, but this must be done in-country. The individual themselves can report the crime.

Trial procedures

The Prosecutor of Faso will inform the parties of the trial dates. The proceedings are conducted in French. Witnesses can testify in any language they wish. French is the official language of the court. Everyone is expected to speak in French unless if it is not the language of the party, in which case a certified interpreter is provided by the court.

If you have to attend trial in Burkina Faso, Faso authorities will not assist with travel and accommodation arrangements.

Depending on how the case is proceeding, it may take up to but no later than one year for the case to come to trial. Under Burkina Faso law, rape is a misdemeanour and is punishable by imprisonment for seven to ten years.

Communication

The police will normally communicate with you, especially when attendance is required in court. Once the case is brought before the Prosecutor of Faso, all communication with you will be done through the Prosecutor’s office. If you are outside of Burkina Faso, communication will be routed through the British High Commission in Accra, unless you have provided a specific address/contact information for such communication.

Legal aid

You do not require legal aid in a criminal case as it is led by the Prosecutor of Faso. Before the competent court, if you do not have the means to hire a lawyer, you will be provided a court-appointed lawyer. You may also be represented by a person of your choice or by an approved association for the defence of human rights in the event of impediment or in the event of extreme vulnerability.

When you return home to the UK

You may want to let your GP or a Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) know what has happened to you so that you can talk about the experience and seek further support and advice where you live.

England	NHS Choices website or search the internet for ‘NHS SARC’
Scotland	Archway SARC phone 0141 211 8175
Wales	New Pathways SARC phone 01685 379 310	Ynys Saff Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) - Cardiff and Vale University Health Board
Northern Ireland	Rowan SARC Northern Ireland phone 0800 389 4424

If you believe you may be at risk of having contracted a sexually transmitted infection (STI), you should ask your local health provider to test you. You should do this even if you have been tested in Burkina Faso.

Read our advice on returning to the UK after rape and sexual assault abroad

Support organisations in Burkina Faso

It is your choice to let people know about an assault. If you are ready to talk about it, the following organisations may be able to help you:

• Gender-based Violence (GBV) task forces within the police and gendarmerie
• Centre for the Care of Victims of GBV in Ouagadougou: +226 80 001 287

Disclaimer

This information has been prepared by HMG officials who are not legally or medically trained. It should therefore never be used as a substitute for professional medical or legal advice. It is intended to help British nationals overseas make their own informed decisions. Neither HMG nor any official of the Consulate accept liability for any loss or damage which you might suffer as a result of relying on the information supplied.