BY MARTHA KOMBE

Violence against women and girls is a widespread issue in Kenya and one of the most common types of violation that women and girls face despite the existence of laws and policies to tackle the vice.

In Kenya, several pieces of legislation, including the Domestic Violence Act, the Sexual Offenses Act, and the National Action Plan on Gender-Based Violence, strive to protect victims of gender-based violence (GBV).

These laws define and punish various forms of GBV, set mechanisms for reporting and reacting to GBV instances, and offer survivors protection and assistance.

But why do we still have gaps when it comes to banishing this demon in our society? Well, execution of these laws has proven to be uneven, and survivors have been encountering impediments to obtaining justice, such as social shame or a lack of information about their rights.

Kenya is characterized by several fundamental causes of GBV, including societal standards and cultural beliefs that perpetuate gender inequality.

Poverty, lack of access to education and economic opportunities, as well as inadequate legal safeguards for women and girls, especially in Kenya’s cities and ghettos, are all fruits, for lack of a better word, of this elephant in the room called gender inequalities.

According to a 2016 Ministry of Health study, 30% of Kenyan women have suffered physical or sexual assault at some point in their lives. A 2017 poll conducted by the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) further revealed that 63% of women and 74% of men in Kenya say it is appropriate for a man to beat his wife under certain situations.

This reinforces the fact that poor women and girls in Kenya are at a higher risk of GBV because they may lack the resources and assistance to defend themselves or seek care, according to 2018 research by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

To successfully prevent and respond to GBV, it is critical to seize the bull by the horns, confront harmful norms and capitalize on opportunities such as the Polycare program within the security department, as well as the commitments Kenya has made both nationally and globally, such as the Generation Equality Forum Action Coalition, to end all forms of gender-based violence against women and girls by 2026.

It won’t be simple, but we need the help of everyone, especially the women and girls who are an integral part of the change we seek so that we can move our country and economy forward and just as Wangari Maathai once mentioned:

“Women are not the weaker sex… We are as strong as men, and when given the chance, we can achieve as much as men can.”