BY OBEGI MOKAYA

“Mambo ya watu wawili wanalala kitanda kimoja, usiingilie!”

… and many similar phrases have become a norm in our communities as we turn a blind eye to sexual and gender-based violence.

Our communities have normalized abuse, to the point of even claiming that gender-based violence is accidental. We have ignored sexism and promoted toxic masculinity, to the point of using men’s achievements to exonerate the impact of their behavior.

While boys and men also do experience abuse, something has to be said to the fact that the large majority of victims of violence are female and the majority of perpetrators of violence are boys and men.

We exist in a society where words are used to put girls and women down. When we, as men, see our women as inferior, it becomes easier for us to treat them with disrespect and violence.

We need to change the way we speak to help change the way we think.

Our media regularly uses images of violence against women, as well as sexually exploiting young women to sell certain products. We need to normalize writing to such companies about their negative images and boycott their products.

We do not need to rely on mainstream media, where this misogyny is rampant, to get our messages out. Social media is and will be a great way to share articles, tips, and tools for the prevention of violence, especially in our communities.

Our community leaders as the custodians of cultural practices are critical in any intervention that will seek to redress the social norms being experienced.

Young people cannot be left out when it comes to combating sexual and gender-based violence. Gender-based violence among young people has become a worldwide public health crisis. It has affected many areas of young people’s lives, including their physical and mental health, with very harmful consequences.

We, as the youth, will continue to volunteer our time to preventing violence by speaking to others. This will hopefully motivate stakeholders to act, as awareness on this issue will have been raised.

Let us break the culture of silence!