• At least 40 women have been killed in sexual and gender violence since January.
• Embrace Movement wants a review of bail terms for perpetrators of SGBV
Image: EZEKIEL AMING'A
A vigil to commemorate the lives of women who perished in sexual and gender-based violence was held on Thursday at the University of Nairobi.
Women leaders under the Embrace Movement urged the public to break the culture of silence which protects perpetrators.
"The vigil is to declare that there is absolutely something wrong in a society whose women constantly live in fear while the same society keeps quiet," they said in a statement.
"The perpetrators currently stand at 4,368 rapists and 19,538 defilers and murderers who cannot be accounted for. Women and girls of Kenya need to feel safe in all public and private spaces at all times," the statement said.
At least 40 women have died of gender-based violence across the country this year.
The group condemned aggravated acts of gender-based and intimate partner violence in which many women have lost lives.
A United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime report shows that women are far more likely to be killed by someone they know.
The 'Global Study on Homicide: Gender-related killings of women and girls 2018' says that 38.5 per cent of girls and women aged between 15 and 49 in Kenya have experienced physical violence at least once in their lifetime.
Wangechi Wachira from the Centre for Rights Education and Awareness said the vigil was being held due to the increased media reports on women who have been killed by their partners.
"Given this trend, I don't think as a country we can go on. We need to know what the root cause of the violence against women is. Could it be stress or mental health issues?" she asked.
Youth and Gender Affairs CAS Rachel Shebesh called on the Judiciary to review the bail terms on domestic violence and reduce the hearing time of cases of domestic violence to give victims speedy justice.
Before emotional investment
Psychologist Mark Ngatia* told the Star by phone that expectations not met in relationships create room for violence.
"When two people decide to be together, they should be clear on what they are looking for and what they expect from the relationship," Ngatia said.
He advised people to know what the motives of their partners are before getting heavily invested in relationships.
"Look at the people they relate with and how they behave in particular situations so as not to miss any warning signs of a violent partner," he said.
Psychiatrist Njagi Kumantha says women empowerment campaigns have made women know that they are equal to men, challenging the male ego.
However, the problem is that after years of women empowerment, there has been no deliberate effort to change men's perception of women.
"A man, being a man, still has this kind of male ego and the fighting spirit and having been offended, they go into fighting mode. This sometimes ends up with killing the partner," the former Mathare Hospital director says.
A good social network is a good shock absorber that can help one to overcome likely fatal reactions after a relationship fails, he says and recommends psychiatric help when one is overwhelmed by anger.
Edited by R.Wamochie