•Your Excellency, by enforcing GBV laws, you will keep girls in school, promote access to justice, increase citizens’ participation in democratic processes, and alleviate poverty.
•Kenya needs this more than ever to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs) so that no single citizen is left behind.
Dear H.E. Dr. William Samoei Ruto, CGH. President of the Republic of Kenya and Commander-In-Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces
Your Excellency, during this year’s #16DaysOfActivism, we highlight the need to enforce Kenya’s Gender-based violence (GBV) laws and policies to eliminate all forms of GBV cases.
GBV has claimed the lives of many girls and women in Kenya and caused trauma, silenced citizens, limited civic engagement and lack of income in many households that depend on survivors of GBV for basic needs.
Gender-based violence in Kenya is not only a life-claiming challenge but also a menace to the country’s development.
Girls and women in Kenya have continuously reported, complained, and voiced their sexual violence experiences on many platforms.
What’s worse, many GBV survivors have been silenced by violators who disregard the rule of law.
The challenge with this is that we are not short of GBV laws, but that we need the laws enforced.
Your Excellency, a single life is one too many to lose and now is the time to act!
A free perpetrator is a too much harm to our country and now is the time to move with speed in enforcing the law.
As an organization and concerned citizens closely working with women and girls in Kenya, we urge you to:
- Move with speed to put into action stipulations in The Children’s Act to ensure that all girls are protected from child marriages, girl child beading, rape, female genital mutilation, defilement and all forms of abuse, violence and exploitation at home and in school. Also, champion punitive measures on adults violating minors across the country.
- Champion, resource and institute clear mechanisms to track, document and enforce provisions of The Sexual Offences Act to end rape, attempted rape, gang rape, sexual assault, defilement, attempted defilement and any other form of sexual violation in Kenya that robs citizens of progressive and safe lives.
- Enforce the implementation of The Protection Against Domestic Violence Act which was signed into law in 2015 to offer relief to GBV survivors. As a result, you will dignify survivors of GBV and their dependents who are robbed of their ability and conducive environments to go to school, earn livelihoods, contribute to nation building, exercise their civic duties and influence change processes in their communities
Honor the 2021 Kenya Government’s commitment made public through the State Department for Gender to:
- Fully implement GBV laws and policies
- Introduce a module on GBV in the Kenya Demographic Health Survey and invest USD 1 million annually for GBV research and innovation;
- Invest USD 23 million for GBV prevention and response;
- Ratify and implement the ILO Convention 190 on eliminating GBV and harassment in the world of work.
- Establish a GBV survivors fund through a co-financing model with the private sector, civil society and other stakeholders.
- Scale up the national police service integrated response to GBV (policare) and establish GBV recovery centers and shelters in all 47 counties.
- Enforce punitive measures on legislators who perpetrate GBV. Legislators took the oath of office to safeguard the constitution and make laws in the interest of citizens. Breaking the same laws they are mandated to protect and oversight implementation is complete injustice to Kenya and should be treated only as that.
Your Excellency, by enforcing GBV laws, you will keep girls in school, promote access to justice, increase citizens’ participation in democratic processes, alleviate poverty, increase access to basic needs and socioeconomic rights.
It will also reduce the number of deaths caused by GBV and GBV-associated trauma and end the stigma against GBV survivors in Kenya.
Kenya needs this more than ever to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs) so that no single citizen is left behind.
We are not short of laws; we, therefore, urge you to enforce them. Enforcing GBV laws and policies is #Better4Kenya. Thank you Sir!
Truly Stella Nderitu, Gender Equality Advocate and Governance Enthusiast. [email protected] | [email protected]
&
Grace Njeri, Storyteller and Lifestyle Journalist, Capital FM.
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