Is violence against women an issue in Kenya or is it an imported agenda?


Here is my take on the issue
Violence against women otherwise known as gender based violence depicts any act of violence that results in or is likely to result in physical, sexual, or psychological harm or suffering to women including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life. It includes all acts that violate women as well as girls’ rights. Up to 70 percent of women experience physical or sexual violence from men in their lifetime[1]. The World Organization against Torture report on violence against women in Kenya stated that laws against family violence and abuse, rape, sexual assault and other gender based violence should give adequate protection to all women, while promoting respect for their dignity and integrity[2]. 

Violence against women in Kenya is not just an “issue.” As a matter of fact it is a “big issue” that is often down played by other occurrences in the country. During the 2007 post election violence for instance the number of reported rape cases at the Nairobi Women’s hospital doubled. It is no news that women and girls suffer physical, sexual, and psychological violence daily, with physical violence being the most prevalent. Gender based violence is an act that happens everywhere, be it at home, at work, on the streets or in schools and has far-reaching consequences, harming families and communities, stunting human development, and undermining economic growth. Kenya is no exception to this sad fact. 
Women of all ages, education levels and social groups, in both rural and urban settings are subjected to violence in one way or another despite the fact that women form the backbone of every successful nation. Behind every successful leader of any great nation there is a phenomenal woman, yet it is the men who are the greatest perpetrators of violence against women. In Kenya women are greatly marginalized and all manner of violence are perpetrated against them. Common examples of gender based violence in Kenya include; domestic violence, female genital mutilation and clitorises, child marriages, denial of access to family property after death of husband, sexual violence and incest[3].  
To say that these forms of violence are imported ideas is an insult to the female species as these atrocities have existed since time in memorial. It is only now that in this day and age women have gained the courage and momentum to stand up and be counted in the fight for protection of their rights. Women have joined arms to protest against being looked upon as the weaker sex. They join arms united, to protect each other and to voice their ideas, knowledge and concern. The fact that at initial there was silence about gender based violence does not make it an imported idea at all. Violence against women is a big and real issue that has to be addressed and it is indeed possible to completely eradicate all forms of violence against women.
The Attorney-General, Hon. Amos Wako, acknowledged in 1999 that “violence against women pervades all social and ethnic groups. It is a societal crisis that requires concerted action to stem its scourge… Culture does influence the relationship between the various groups in society and … some cultural practices, beliefs and traditions have had the tendency to relegate women to second class status in society thereby not only violating their rights as human beings [but also] leading to discrimination against women. Some… customs and cultural practices have found their way not only into law but ... [are used] as justification for violence against women.” [4]
  Similar concerns have been expressed by the United Nations through its 1325 (2000) Resolution. The resolution states that women and children account for the vast majority of those adversely affected by armed conflict, including as refugees and internally displaced persons[5] as was experienced in Kenya during the 2007 general elections where there were many cases of women being raped whereas others were beaten badly and left to die. There have also been reported cases of refugee women especially in the Daadab Camp being raped by soldiers, police men and other men within the locality. Although these cases often go unreported, it does not prevent them from being real.
The Peace Keeping Watch organization further noted that continued violence threatens the future of millions of women and their communities. Women remain marginalized from formal decision-making processes and from security issues; and gender considerations too rarely inform the policy and practice of the international community in conflict-affected regions[6]. This is evidenced by the low number of women in leadership positions such as Ministers, members of parliament and public secretaries. As long as women rights are violated, our society will remain being at the risk of disintegration. This is because women are more often than not the determiners of the moral fabric of the society. This fabric holds together the society and once it is torn and tattered, the society is likely to collapse.
All concerns expressed above exist or have existed in our country in one way or another. The government has over the years made efforts to reduce the occurrence of gender based violence. This has been done through implementation of various legislation to protect women and girls from violence as well as ratification of international conventions and treatises that in one way or another deal with protection of the rights of women and children. Such legislations include Children’s Act; Sexual Offences Act; HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Act; and Public Officer Ethics Act[7]. At the international level, Kenya is a signatory to; International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
However there is still a lot to be done as there is no law that protects women and girls from domestic violence, and marital rape is not considered a crime in the country. This is because the Marriage Act implies presumption of consent to sex at the time of marriage. Further, Kenya law through the Judicature Act[8] recognizes African customary law, Hindu law and Islamic law as sources of law in Kenya. Under these laws a man is allowed to chastise his wife and the right of consortium is awarded to the man only. Further, even though Kenya is a signatory to the international instruments above, it is yet to incorporate them into Kenya law so as to give them a legal effect. There is therefore need to further amend our laws in a bid to correct the injustices suffered by women especially in regards to violence. 
Response to violence against women and in particular response to sexual and domestic violence is not possible unless the culture of impunity is put to an end[9]. As long as there is impunity the myriad of problems for women in political, social, and cultural spheres will continue to persist. Many are times when victims of gender based violence have been intimidated by the police as they attempted to make statements. There are cases where the victims have been interrogated by policemen and police women who are ruthless and insensitive in the manner in which they ask questions. I must however congratulate the government in its efforts to reform the Kenya Police and prisons. This has led to an improvement in the manner in which the women victims as well as suspects are treated. 
Concurrently, there must be respect for the Rule of Law. This is because the rule of law is a vital element for every society as it guarantees the right to a fair trial and respect for the human rights of its citizens. Sadly the administration of justice in Kenya is not at all free from political influence and the economic crisis of the country undermines the judiciary even further. Reforms in the judiciary as well as the Kenya legislation, such as appointment of more female judges; sensitization of the judicial officials and general public on violence against women; introduction of minimum penalty on sexual offenders and recognition of marital rape and domestic violence as felonies will go a great way into fighting the issue of violence against women. 
The following Case laws are indicators that violence against women in Kenya is an existing social problem that needs to be addressed. In the Case of 29 women of Kibera reported during the post election violence 29 women from the Kibera area who were raped and or sexually assaulted by either Administration Police from the chief’s camp, or General Service Unit officers reported their abuse to the Gender-Based Violence Recovery Centre at Kenyatta Hospital. It was reported that, during the curfew imposed during the period of post-election violence, police officers on patrol would break down doors of houses where women were known to reside alone without an adult male presence. They would then assault and rape the women, sometimes in the presence of children. The women were raped either in their homes or in the surrounding neighborhood. Despite the fact that the perpetrators of the abuse are known by virtue of having worked at the chief’s camp in Kibera, none of them have been apprehended or charged with any crime.[10]

In another case of Case of R. v. Hans Vriens three young girls implicated Hans Vriens, a Dutch national, with sexually exploiting them. It is a case that was related to a suspected case of trafficking in children that involved Mr. Vriens who was accused of exploiting several children in Kenya. He had established a school where he recruited young girls and housed them in a boarding school. It was alleged that he had developed a list of over 70 girls against whose names was marked “virgin” or “non-virgin”, and exposed them to pornographic material. It was further alleged that he took some of these girls with him for holidays in Mombasa where he introduced them to his friends. During investigations, the police continually harassed the young girls, including continually arresting and charging members of their families on fabricated criminal charges. At one point, witnesses were arrested while they were going to the court to give evidence. They included 9- and 10-year-old orphaned girls. Unfortunately, due to poor investigations and interference by the police, the accused was acquitted on all counts. It is alleged that he has since moved to western Kenya where he opened and is still operating a new school. [11]

 Another case was reported in the The Standard of 26 May 2008 where twogirls who had been rescued by the police after being married off by their parents. In one of the incidents, the girls, aged 13 and 14, who were pupils at Ol Kinyei Primary School in Mukogodo in Laikipia North District of Kenya, were withdrawn from school after their parents found them suitors. The two were taken to Nanyuki Children’s Home, where the administrator confirmed that their middle-aged husbands had run off. The second case related to the rescue of a 6-year-old girl from a forced early marriage in Isiolo District in. The Children’s Department, the Provincial Administration police and the Child Welfare Society spent five days combing the remote Kipsing Location in Isiolo District where they rescued the minor, who had been hidden by her would-be husband. [12]
It is therefore evidenced by these cases that violence against women in Kenya is a real problem that that needs to be addressed. It is the high time that this problem should take priority. Let us not be blinded by other social, political and economical problems faced by this country for as long as women rights are not protected, these problems shall not cease. Be counted in the fight to eradicate violence against women in Kenya.
REFERENCES
·          Situation of Violence against Women and Children in Kenya: Implementation of the UN Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment June 2009
[1] SAY NO-UNiTE to End Vilonce against Women, http://www.saynotoviolence.org
[2] The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), Operating the SOS-TORTURE NETWORK(2003)

[3] Violence against Women in Kenya      www.unifem.orgFACT SHEET UNIFEM PARTNER PROFILE Coalition on Violence against Women, Kenya (COVAW
[4] The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), Operating the SOS-TORTURE NETWORK(2003) @ page
[5] Resolution 1325 (2000) Adopted by the Security Council at its 4213th meeting, on 31 October 2000
[6] 1325 Peace Women E-News, Issue 97, January 2008 http://www.peacewomen.org
[7] Violence against Women in Kenya      www.unifem.org
[8] CAP 8 Laws of Kenya
[9] 1325 Peace Women E-News, Issue 97, January 2008 http://www.peacewomen.org

[10] Cases reported to the Gender-Based Violence Recovery Centre (Kenyatta Hospital), a one-stop-shop facility for survivors of sexual violence supported by Kenyatta Hospital and COVAW (K). The crimes described werecommitted between 30 December 2007 and 1 January 2008.

[11] R. v. Hans Vriens, CMC criminal case No. 1380/2001.
[12] Situation of Violence against Women and Children in Kenya: Implementation of the UN Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

Comments

  1. Kenyan Diaspora Pro-democracy Movement9 August 2011 at 11:22

    Excellent article. Keep up the good work Mercyline.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mercyline Lubia9 August 2011 at 11:35

    Thank you. I am glad to know that you took your time to go through the article

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous9 August 2011 at 16:23

    I condemn all forms of violence, and especially violence against women and children.
    It is a problem and I think your title is rhetorical. but I also see a very strong implication that ALL men are violent against women.
    Reading your articles begs the question; what impression is made on the boy child? that he will grow up to be a violent woman beater because he is a man.
    Women too commit violence against women and men. Genital mutilation is done and encouraged by women. There are too, very many men who suffer violence in the protection of women and children.
    Most of the structure implies that it is a conspiracy by men to be violent on women. And some of the information which is still repeated as fact, such as 70% of women are sexually or violently abused has been proven to just nor be accurate.
    What this kind of sensationalist approach does is to alienate reasonable men, who though not violent, are able to stand up more openly and effectively to end violence.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Mercyline Lubia10 August 2011 at 14:13

    honest man i also agree that violence against men has been on the increase, however this does not met out the fact that there is violence against women especially those from marginalized areas. violence of any kind against any person should not be encouraged. This article endeavors to answer whether violence against women in Kenya is an imported idea or whether there is actual violence against women. my answer is yes there is violence against women in Kenya, there is also violence against children and yes there is increasing violence against men especially against young boys.

    ReplyDelete

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