• The cases increased from 86 to 115 in three weeks after a curfew directive was issued.
• The leading forms of violence are physical assault, psychological torture and defilement.
The national gender-based violence hotline registered 201 cases between February and March.
In three weeks, the numbers went up from 86 in February to 115 in March, the month President Uhuru Kenyatta issued a directive for the 7pm-to-5am curfew.
According to Gender CS Margaret Kobia, the leading forms of violence are physical assault, psychological torture and defilement.
"Women in quarantine face increased risks of intimate partner violence. Girls staying home from school are vulnerable to forms of abuse such as defilement and female genital mutilation," said Kobia.
"The economic dependence and marginalisation of women make them more vulnerable, especially amid a pandemic."
Data from SGDs Forum Kenya shows that 41 per cent of crimes since schools closed due to Covid-19 are sexual violations against children.
The National Council on the Administration of Justice reported that rape cases increased by 35.8 per cent in the two weeks following the national curfew.
From the Counting Dead Women Kenya database, between January 1 and April 20, 21 women have been killed through acts of physical and sexual violence.
The data also reveals infants and teenagers are increasingly becoming victims of gender-based violence.
The latest report from the database is the defilement and murder of a 15-year-old girl who was dumped next to the bushes at her home.
In an advisory note to the government, various women's rights organisations said that despite the stay at home directive preventing the spread of the coronavirus, it had placed vulnerable groups who face restricted movement at risk of violence.
"The inability and reduced access to income-earning opportunities, loss of jobs and livelihoods have provided a fertile ground for gender-based violence to thrive.
"The limited access to service providers such as health facilities, police stations, and access to courts due to social distancing and curfew measures have hampered redress to affected victims of abuse," their statement read.
To deal with the increasing cases of violence, the women's rights lobbies recommended the government allocates at least 30 per cent of the Covid-19 response funds to a GBV prevention and response strategy.
"Ensure women and girls who are survivors of abuse and violence have access to safe and alternative shelter and temporary accommodation that offers protection against gender-based violence," the lobbies said.
GBV survivors should access medical treatment at all government facilities for free as part of a GBV referral network to ensure uninterrupted access to emergency services.
The lobbies recommended psychological and online counselling, provision of legal aid, provision of more targeted messaging for vulnerable populations and water.
Other recommendations include the provision of accessible gender data, cash transfer, distribution of food and sanitary towels, and strategic partnerships with women's rights lobbies.
Edited by Henry Makori