17 Oct Forms of Gender Based Violence in Kenya
The legal framework for gender-based violence covers both international and national regimes. The international regime is binding on Kenya in accordance with Article 2(5) and (6) of the Kenyan Constitution. It includes laws such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on Human and Peoples` Rights. In June 2021, the Kenyan government took the bold step of ending gender-based violence, including sexual violence, by 2026. At the announcement, Kenya pledged to step up its campaign to end these violations by making a series of 12 bold commitments that would remove the systemic barriers that allow gender-based violence to flourish. If gender-based violence is tolerated and tolerated in schools, it has broader social consequences for gender equality. Victims may feel less able to act and abusers may feel immune. These harmful feelings and behaviours go beyond the school environment and contribute to perpetuating inequalities and gender-based violence in society. Anecdotal evidence suggests that school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV) affects millions of children and adolescents worldwide. It is one of the worst manifestations of gender-based discrimination and violates various rights of the child. Education is crucial to empowering and transforming the lives of young people, especially girls, but widespread gender-based violence (GBV) in and around schools seriously undermines the achievement of quality, inclusive and equitable education for all children. Government programs that provided emergency financial assistance during the COVID-19 crisis, such as an expanded cash transfer program, have not focused on gender-based violence and have had little impact on survivors.
Human Rights Watch found that due to corruption and lack of transparency, the poorest people have not received the vital financial assistance promised by the government to fight COVID-19. “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” Every day, cases of gender-based violence are increasing around the world, despite all efforts to combat it. The truth is that no one should be exposed to any form of violence. No one should be beaten just because they have a “weaker sex.” No one should be killed just to honor someone. Everyone – Kenyans – should enjoy all fundamental rights and freedoms. Kenya, like many other countries around the world, has seen an increase in reported cases of physical and sexual violence, including domestic violence, against women and girls during mobility restrictions aimed at containing the spread of the virus. Even before the pandemic, high levels of violence against women and girls, impunity, and lack of accountability and services for survivors were persistent problems in Kenya. The prevalence of various types of violence against children, both inside and outside Kenyan schools, remains a major concern. The 2019 Kenya Child Violence Survey (VACS) found that 49% of girls and 48% of boys aged 13-17 had experienced physical violence, and 11% of girls and 4% of boys reported experiencing sexual violence. Alcohol and drug abuse is a related cause of gender-based violence.
For example, an alcoholic may beat his partner under the influence of alcohol or drugs. There have been many reports of spouses losing their lives to an abusive partner who has used drugs or alcohol. There are four categories of gender-based violence, physical, sexual, emotional (mental and social), economic and harmful traditional practices. However, it is important to note that some researchers have divided gender-based violence into three levels. These are at the home/family level, at the community level and at the state level. In June 2021, Kenya included a gender-based violence indicator in the government`s performance monitoring framework. This ensures that the application and implementation of laws and policies against gender-based violence are pursued. Through this commitment, the government has also allocated additional resources to prevention and intervention. Personality and psychiatric problems are also a cause of gender-based violence. Research has shown that if these people do not receive help, they will always blame their partners and therefore resort to abusive marriage.
The author notes: “. People with these disorders very rarely seek help and instead blame everyone around them for their behavior. They will idealize you one minute and criticize you the next. They are impulsive and lack empathy, manipulate and exploit you and do not respect your rights. How do you know you`re dating someone who has a personality disorder? You constantly walk on eggshells to avoid conflict. The whole relationship seems weird. And you`re probably convinced that it`s all your fault. Several prevention and intervention programmes have been tested and proven effective, including by WHO, UN Women and civil society organizations. These interventions include psychosocial support for survivors of violence; programmes to strengthen economic and social skills; Transfers; Work with couples to improve communication and relationship skills; and community mobilization interventions to, inter alia, end gender inequality. The government needs to adapt and scale them so that they can be deployed across the country. With over 40% of women in Kenya likely to face physical and/or sexual and gender-based violence, including physical and/or sexual violence from their intimate partner throughout their lives, and more than one in five girls facing child marriage or female genital mutilation, Kenya still has a long way to go. (Nairobi) – The Kenyan government`s response to gender-based violence during the COVID-19 pandemic was insufficient and too late, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
(1) Proportion of women aged 15-49 who experience physical and/or sexual violence in their partnership at least once in their lifetime. Source: Kenya National Bureau of Statistics and ICF.2014. Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2014. These steps are all necessary and important. Something needs to change to protect women and girls from this violence. Encouragingly, the Kenyan government has renewed its commitment to ending gender-based violence. There is a need to strengthen advocacy and capacity-building for law enforcement agencies and institutions implementing national policies to address gender-based violence. Check out Your Voice Matters – a series of online conversations we had with Better4Kenya and some notable influencers in Kenya about the need to accelerate the elimination of sexual and gender-based violence and the promotion of women`s and girls` rights in the country. The 2014 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey found that about one in four women reported experiencing physical or sexual violence by a partner in the 12 months preceding the survey. This means that it could be more common and widespread than previously thought.
Combating domestic violence requires a coordinated and multisectoral approach involving all segments of society. As part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), all countries, including Kenya, have committed to ending all forms of gender-based violence by 2030. Social unrest, which includes issues such as war. During the war, aspects such as sexual violence were widespread. Take the example of the genocide in Rwanda, where people like Jean Paul Akayesu were implicated in sexual violence and were eventually indicted and convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). The following is part of a series of information sessions given by Echidna Global Scholar alumni on school-related gender-based violence in elementary schools. A longer guidance note, summarised by transnational results, is being prepared. Gender-based physical violence is defined as the deliberate use of physical violence that can cause death, disability, injury or harm. Physical abuse is the easiest form of violence to identify, as there are usually physical findings that correspond to it. These include assault, domestic violence and harmful cultural practices. In Kenya, according to the latest national data (published in 2014), about 41% of women reported experiencing physical or sexual violence from their husband or partner in their lifetime. About two-fifths of these women reported physical injuries as a result of the violence.
Equality Now therefore calls on the Kenyan government to meet the 12 commitments to end all forms of GBV by 2026 and to call on it, along with other civil society organizations and the private sector, to step up the fight against gender-based violence by: At least six people died as a result of police violence in the first 10 days of the curfew, from dusk to dawn. Kenyan authorities have also forcibly quarantined thousands of people in facilities that endanger their safety and health. Fears of police brutality and forced quarantine have discouraged survivors from seeking help, Human Rights Watch said. Organizations working with survivors reported that many women felt they had no choice but to stay home with their abusers instead of seeking help and dealing with police or other cumbersome security guards enforcing the curfew. “I was forced to stay at home when I was abused because I had nowhere else to go,” said Amelia A., a domestic violence survivor in Kisumu County. Kenya has strategies in place to prevent and respond to gender-based violence. In 2014, it launched the National Policy to Prevent and Combat Gender-Based Violence. The Kenyan Constitution contains provisions to protect all persons from all forms of violence.