The Covid-19 pandemic has stressed the importance of shelters, settlement and recovery actors in enhancing the safety and well-being of people affected by the crisis.
People sheltering at home from the global contagion experienced the shadow pandemic of gender-based violence. Many survivors of GBV, who are predominantly women, were forced to shelter in place with their abusers.
In most cases, perpetrators are known to the victim/survivor, who are intimate partners, family members, friends, teachers or community leaders and in some cases the police.
From the Covid-19 crisis there emerged another national crisis. In 2020, during the period when schools were closed and curfews and inter-county movements were restricted, the rates of sexual and gender-based violence surged by 92.2 per cent.
Unfortunately, some victims who sought help from already instituted shelters had to be turned back due to the already high demand and lack of resources.
Pierina Wantai of the National Shelters Network Secretariate stresses the importance of transitional care and services. She says that care and services for survivors are quite costly, considering that some of these costs are recurring.
Shelters are more than ‘four walls and a roof’, they also provide security, safety, protection and care services for survivors. “As we take in a victim/survivor of GBV we have to consider some hidden costs, including human resources who are able to offer professional services such as counselling services and legal aid.”
Medical expenses also come into play in cases where the survivor falls sick or is treating an injury caused by the violence against them.
Where resources are scarce, survivors do not receive a holistic response that would enable them to lead normal lives. Limited and under-resourced shelters also contribute to a lack of follow-up once the survivor has exited the shelter. Since recovery is not an event, the issue of inadequate shelters adversely compromises the fight against GBV.
Kenya has 54 non-state shelters in 18 counties, who in most instances are already overburdened by the overwhelming demand. The shelters are organised under the National Shelters Network led by the Centre for Domestic Training and Development. This is a women's rights NGO that works to promote the rights of girls and women in domestic labour in Kenya through advocacy, skills development, employment, education and protection.
The gap posed by the absence of state-sponsored safe houses greatly affects rescue efforts. Sadly, only one government-run shelter exists, located in Makueni county.
Non-state shelters have had to offer their survivors alternatives, which include referring them to relatives and friends away from home or housing them in their homes, which poses a danger to them. This is not sustainable, especially during a crisis.
All eyes should be trained on the President’s plan to end GBV by 2026. The policy brief, Kenya’s Roadmap to advancing gender equality, ending all forms of gender-based violence and female genital mutilation by 2026, contains 12 commitments under four areas for concerted action.
It will be prudent for actors of GBV to follow up on how the cumulative $73 million (Sh8.3 billion) will be put to use and just how much will be allocated to prevention and response.
Development communications specialist
