• Ignorance and poverty are among the reasons why most women suffer in silence
Already notorious for teenage pregnancies, Kilifi is now battling a rise in gender-based violence.
County gender officer Agneta Karembo says they record about 25 cases of GBV against women every month, mostly from informal settlements and rural areas.
"The main causes of the GBV cases in families are lack of economic empowerment of women and the local culture that looks down upon women," she says.
Karembo says many cases go unreported because women fear to come out in public to report for action to be taken.
To address this, they have initiated programmes educating women and men in the grassroots on human rights and the process of seeking justice.
Currently, the Gender department is working with the Federation of Women Lawyers (Fida) and the Kenya Red Cross on the project. Karembo says the team is going from village to village.
Fida Coast regional coordinator Ilham Isham said men lure women with handouts and then they demand sex in return.
She says financial oppressions are the main reasons women are abused, adding that there is a need for serious engagements for women's empowerment so they can support themselves.
Kilifi Mums' Forum's Kibibi Ali says the lack of proper marriage documents for women contributes to the rise in cases of GBV.
She says women must ensure they obtain marriage certificates immediately they marry to use them to prevent oppression by their husbands.
Currently, she says, it's difficult to defend women in courts of law, particularly during succession cases after they are chased by their husbands and their husbands die.
"We support the idea of Fida to initiate education programmes at the grassroots. This will go a long way in helping enlighten both women and men," she says.
Ali says it's important for women to know where to run for justice when they are abused or fall victims to GBV.
Resident Gertrude Ndoro from Jaribuni village says during the education programme, they learned how to seek justice.
She says they were taught how to preserve evidence in case of defilement or rape. She learned that one is not supposed to bathe for at least 72 hours, until the case is reported and a medical examination conducted.
"We shall spread the information to other women who have not been reached,” she said.
Kilifi Health executive Charles Dadu says parents must play a big role in ensuring children get sex education.
He says health workers were trained on community health, and other stakeholders have been educating the youth.
The executive said parents should cooperate with the county government and other stakeholders to prevent SGBV.
"The biggest challenge now is parents stay for a long time with the children who are supposed to receive the knowledge. Parents should also enlighten them on a better way of life," he said.
If such youth champions could be recruited all over the county and have similar coordination with relevant offices, young girls could be made aware of the importance of being safe from early sexual affairs.
With such initiatives and the youth champions being used for education, it can bring meaningful positive results to save the girl child from early marriage or teenage pregnancies.