The Ministry of Gender has partnered with the government of Finland to fight against gender-based violence.
Gender CS Margaret Kobia said on Wednesday cases increased to 2,032 between January and June 2021 from 1,057 cases reported in the entire year of 2019.
"This partnership comes at a vital time for the country when the National Crime Centre reported a 92 per cent increase in GBV reported cases during the start of lockdowns,” she said.
Kobia spoke at the Kenya School of Government during the launch of a three-year bilateral GBV programme between the two countries.
She said the programme would help in fulfilling the government’s commitment in June at the Paris Generation Equality Forum to end GBV by 2026.
“This programme fits right in with the journey towards ending GBV. At the end of the three years, we want to be able to say that if it was not for Finland, we would not have been able to achieve the significant gains we have made,” she added.
The programme’s main aim will be to strengthen the prevention and response to GBV nationwide.
Michelle Ell, the programme's chief technical adviser, said the programme will mainly benefit the counties of Samburu, Kilifi and Bungoma.
She said the three counties were chosen on the basis of poverty levels, marginalisation, cultural practices, and the desire for balanced regional coverage.
"Our main aim is to create efficient and accessible survivor-centered services by giving more support to first responders to cases such as family members of victims and community members or social workers," Ell said.
Collaborative Centre for Gender and Development executive director Masheti Masinjila said the biggest challenge facing the implementation of GBV policies in Kenya is inadequate budget support.
"We have many conflicting interests in the government that require funding, so we end up getting a little more than what we expected. If we can get adequate funding, then we will be able to fill the gaps that make implementation difficult," he said.
He said more coordination from the Judiciary and law enforcement would further help in the war to end GBV, as a multi-sectoral approach is highly required to achieve this.
Masinjila acknowledged the steps taken by the government towards ending GBV, including the launch of Policare two weeks ago, a one-stop centre for handling cases in a humane manner.
“Despite the policies in place, we still have a long way to go. If we pull together and the community, the police service and the Judiciary play their part, then we will be able to win this fight,” he said.
Edited by A.N
