- Kenya has good laws and policies in writing but many end up gathering dust in cabinets and on shelves.
- This is to say that as a country, we struggle a lot with the implementation of legislation.
Image: THE STAR
Violence against girls and women has been a thorny issue in our communities, with many stakeholders singing an old song of reducing, if not stopping, the many cases of GBV.
You probably may be asking yourself many questions as to why GBV cases are never decimated in Kenya. Another question that we ask ourselves is whether the policies and laws enacted in Kenya protect adolescent girls and young women from gender-based violence.
Arguably, Kenya has good laws and policies in writing but many end up gathering dust in cabinets and on shelves. This is to say that as a country, we struggle a lot with the implementation of legislation.
Nonetheless, Kenya is committed to addressing GBV among adolescent girls and young women, and this is evident through a number of national and international commitments such as the generation equality forum commitments and ICPD 25 on having zero SGBV cases.
Over the last couple of years, Kenya has been integrating sexual reproductive health policies and GBV components to address GBV cases among the vulnerable and marginalised population. The integration part has been fundamental in enhancing timely access to medical services among GBV survivors.
More importantly, many counties have embraced the art of domesticating the national GBV policy to ensure that their county tailored policy responds to contextual key issues and that the interventions are culturally sensitised.
GBV is a devastating pandemic that affects one in every three AGYWs in their lifetime. Worse still, 35 per cent of women are said to experience physical or sexual violence. Globally, 7 per cent of women have been sexually assaulted by someone other than their partner.
Currently, the statistics of AGYWs experiencing GBV cases due to tough economic situations are high. Emotional violence is also alarming among AGYWs and is interlinked with mental health illnesses.
With the closing of schools for the December holidays, the community gatekeepers, parents, religious leaders and local security actors have to work in tandem to address GBV among AGYWs who are at a greater risk.
Essentially, as the 16 Days of Gender Activism against GBV, which runs run from November 25, to December 10, gets underway, it is worth noting that the community can unite and declare to end GBV among Adolescent Girls and Young Women.
Finally, both state and non-state actors should leverage the 16 Days of Gender Activism to initiate the challenging discussion and debates around GBV. Let us orange the world during the 16 Days of Gender Activism to demonstrate our solidarity in addressing all forms of violence among AGYWs
CEO, Angaza Youth Initiative