Safe houses to be set up for GBV survivors in Nairobi as Kananu assents to Bill

An interconnected reporting and referral system will soon be established to guide survivors of gender-based and sexual violence.

Nairobi acting Governor Ann Kananu on Monday signed into law the Sexual Gender-Based Violence ( SGBV) Bill at City Hall.

The bill by Nominated MCA Wanjiru Kariuki seeks to ensure victims have shelters and get the proper care they need and justice.

It proposes that the county government establishes safe houses in at least each of the 17 sub-counties in Nairobi to guarantee the safety of victims while their cases are being prosecuted, ensuring budgetary allocation for the facilities as well as a witness protection programme.

Its overall role is to accelerate efforts towards the elimination of all forms of GBV in Nairobi County and ensure perpetrators are severely punished.

Kananu said that Kenya has made major strides in developing legislative frameworks on response, prevention and management of SGBV.

"The new law will build on the ongoing efforts by President Uhuru Kenyatta to create a gender-equal society post-Covid-19,” she added.

The law also requires the establishment of facilities and infrastructure necessary for GBV responses at the County level and the Collection of  aggregate information on prevention, occurrence, responses related to GBV.

Kananu thanked non-state actors, including the Coalition of Violence Against women(COVAW), UN Women and other human rights organisations for their tireless work towards the advancement of women's rights; and achieving a society free from all forms of violence against women and girls. 

She acknowledged the continuous key role played by these organizations in implementing initiatives towards the elimination of gender-based violence.  

Kananu lauded the sponsor of the bill, Wanjiru Kariuki. She assured her support towards the elimination of violence against women and girls.

The signing was witnessed by Rachel Shebesh, Chief Administrative Secretary in the Ministry of Public Service, Youth and Gender, Nairobi Women Rep Esther Passaris, Executive Members and MCAs lead by the Deputy Speaker Geoffrey  Majiwa and Deputy Majority Leader Peter Wanyoike.

 Media personality and Inua Dada founder  Janet Mbugua was also in attendance and representatives of Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS).

“ The perception that ending GBV is not everyone’s fight. It is. And this is not the time to be on sidelines and gaslight those who are working tirelessly to address the myriad of issues, the layers and layers of complexities and roadblocks, in the path to ending this social ill,” Mbugua said.

Passaris noted that her office in partnership with Nairobi County  Government and the NMS are working together to put up a Safehouse in Nairobi.

In August, it was revealed that Sh68 million has been set aside towards the provisions of safe shelters.

City Hall will contribute Sh18 million, while the office of the Nairobi Woman Rep would give Sh50 million to construct safe shelters at Mji wa Huruma from this month.

The three partners are yet to sign a memorandum of understanding for the construction of the safehouse to commence.

Shebesh appealed to the county government for sufficient allocation of resources for gender issues.

She assured that the Ministry of Public Service, Youth and Gender will support the implementation of the GBV law.

Sexual and gender-based violence continues to increase in the country, with Nairobi alone recording 3,716 cases between January and June this year.

Some 3,450 cases were recorded last year, as per the data from the Kenya Health Information System.

In 2019, at least 2,023 cases were reported, marking a decrease from 2,357 sexual violence cases in 2018.

In 2017, being an election year, 2,021 cases were recorded, while 1,997 cases were recorded in 2016.