• UN Women, Human rights 2019 report found sexual violence is recurrent during Kenyan elections
• Rights groups have been calling on the government to put in place measures that will see Kenyans are not at risk of SGBV during this period.
Image: EZEKIEL AMING'A
Gender and Public Service Cabinet Secretary Margaret Kobia has committed to implementing recommendations made by a UN agency report.
The report ‘Breaking cycles of violence: gaps in the prevention of and response to electoral related sexual violence’ was carried out by UN Women and UN Human Rights in 2019.
It found that sexual violence was a recurrent trend in Kenyan elections and that Government has failed severally to anticipate and plan for the risk of the violence.
“Sexual violence has been a recurrent feature of elections in Kenya since the 1990s. Despite strengthened institutional and legal frameworks, sexual violence was again prevalent during the 2017 elections,” said the report.
It added that data by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) showed 201 cases were reported in 11 counties where monitors were deployed and actual numbers in all 47 counties would be higher.
The Commission of Inquiry into the Post-Election Violence(CIPEV) documented 900 cases of sexual violence and also noted that the actual figure was likely to be much higher.
Kobia said that the Government was committed to implementing the recommendations made in the report as Kenya prepares for the upcoming elections.
She said this on Wednesday while in New York leading the Kenyan delegation attending the 66th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW66) at the UN General Assembly.
Kobia took part in a ministerial roundtable to discuss ending violence against women in politics during the elections which has been reported to be rampant in Kenya.
“The discussion is important considering that GBV hinders women from occupying their rightful place in leadership and governance. The government had put in place policies and legislation towards preventing violence against women in politics, key among these the Elections Offenses Act of 2016,” She tweeted.
The UN report had recommended that the Government have the Election Offenses Act to prescribe Electoral Related Sexual Violence (ERSV) as an offence as well.
“The act should define constitutive elements and provide stiffer penalties in line with the Sexual Offences Act,” the report said.
A January report by the Kenya Human Rights Commission on Sexual Violence as a Political tool during elections also called on state agencies to anticipate and adequately plan to prevent SGBV during this electioneering period.
It also found police officers to be the major perpetrators of sexual violence during elections.
The UN report recommended that the police get training on their role as protectors rather than perpetrators of SGBV.
“Provide specialised, standardised and mandatory training to security officers on their roles and responsibilities to prevent and protect persons at risk of ERSV,” said the report.
It also called for enhanced coordination between investigative agencies, oversight mechanisms (KNCHR, NGEC), ODPP, survivors’ networks, civil society organisations, and protection agencies during this period.