Kisumu policy to address sexual and gender-based violence

Kisumu county has developed a policy to eliminate sexual and gender-based violence in the region.

The policy also seeks to promote gender equality by setting up systems to protect, prevent and respond to these violations whenever they occur.

It borrows heavily from national, regional and international laws that Kenya is obligated to implement and was informed by the need to respond to widespread SGBV violations.

Kisumu is among the counties with the highest incidents of  SGBV violations.

The Demographic and Health Survey (2014) reported that 39.2 per cent of pregnant women in the county had experienced physical violence.

In 97 per cent of these cases, the violence had been perpetrated by the women’s intimate partners.

SGBV violations in Kisumu county have previously been linked to certain cultural beliefs and traditions, post-election violence and as the socio-economic status of the vulnerable groups.

The high prevalence of SGBV calls for the creation of local interventions and solutions.

Kisumu speaker Elisha Oraro said the launch of the policy is a welcome relief as it will provide homegrown, multi-faceted remedies to address the human rights violations.

He said it further creates mechanisms to support survivors of SGBV while ensuring that laws are fully enforced at the local level.

Through the policy, Oraro said, the county government of Kisumu will establish an SGBV steering committee and technical working groups that will flow from the county to the ward level.

According to Oraro, the steering committee will provide strategic policy direction towards the implementation of relevant SGBV laws, policies, and mobilisation of resources for protection, prevention, response and coordination initiatives.

“With the unveiling of the policy we are moving to ensure that Kisumu county has zero cases of SGBVs,” he added.

The policy brings together state and non-state actors in a bid to enhance accountability, coordination, monitoring, and evaluation of programmes directed towards ending SGBV.

The policy also acknowledges that SGBV violations affect women and girls disproportionately, but speaks for the human rights of both sexes.

It will be implemented at the county, subcounty and ward levels.

It further notes that orphans and vulnerable children, persons with disabilities, youth, sexual; gender minorities, and the elderly are also vulnerable to SGBV.

The policy will complement the Constitution of Kenya (2010), the Sexual Offences Act (2006), the Children’s Act (2001), the Penal Code (2009), the Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act (2011) among other national laws.