Kenya

Kenya

Fast facts

Total population: 55.1 million

Internet penetration rate: 17.86 million users

State bodies tasked with tackling GBV: Ministry of Public Service, Gender and Affirmative Action | National Gender and Equality Commission | Directorate of Children’s Services (DCS) | National Crime Research Centre | Anti-Female Genital Mutilation Board

GBV laws and policies in Kenya

The Constitution acknowledges several principles that hold significance for gender equality and have a broad impact on GBV in Kenya.

Article 10 (2)(b) outlines national values and principles of governance, which include human dignity, equity, social justice, inclusivity, equality, human rights, non-discrimination, and protection of marginalised groups.

Articles 25(a), 29(d), and (f), and 50 prohibit torture or any cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, whether carried out by public or private entities.

Article 27 ensures equal protection before the law and in all aspects of life, prohibits any form of discrimination, and mandates the State to address any disadvantages faced by individuals or groups due to past discrimination.

Article 28 establishes that every person possesses inherent dignity and the right to have that dignity respected and safeguarded.

Article 30 (1) prohibits holding any person in slavery or servitude and Article 30 (2) ensures that no person is compelled to perform forced labour.

Legislation:

Section 13 of the Act ensures that all children are protected from physical and psychological abuse, neglect, and any form of exploitation, including sale, trafficking, or abduction. Section 14 protects children from practices such as female circumcision, early marriage, or any other harmful cultural rites, customs, or traditions that could hinder the child’s development. The Act also explicitly prohibits the sexual exploitation of children and any actions that subject them to torture, cruel, or inhuman treatment, such as circumcision or child marriage.

The Act defines domestic violence as any violence or threat inflicted by a person in a domestic relationship and also includes psychological abuse of children witnessing such abuse. The Act emphasises that even a single act or a pattern of seemingly minor behaviours can constitute abuse. Additionally, the Act empowers individuals in domestic relationships to seek protection orders in court and mandates the police to develop procedures and training officers to effectively address family-related matters and expedite complaint processing.

The Act recognises sexual harassment as a crime and criminalises different forms of violence including rape, sexual assault, defilement, compelled or induced indecent acts with children or adults, gang rape, distributing child sexual abuse material, child trafficking, child sexual exploitation, sexual harassment and forced sexual acts for cultural or religious reasons among others.

The Act consolidates various issues relating to marriage. It defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.  Either a man or woman may file a petition for divorce. Notably, in terms of section 6(1) of the Act, neither party may petition for divorce within the first three years of the date of marriage.

The purpose of the Act, as its name implies, is to prohibit the practice of female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C). Section 2 defines FGM as “all procedures involving partial or total removal of the female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs, or any harmful procedure to the female genitalia, for non-medical reasons.” Part II of the Act establishes the Anti-Female Genital Mutilation Board, whose functions include designing programmes to eradicate FGM, awareness-raising, and formulating policy on the planning/financing/coordination of anti-FGM-related activities.

Policy:

The policy outlines Kenya’s national agenda for gender equality and how different stakeholders could work towards achieving these goals. The primary objective of the policy is to achieve equality in terms of access to and control of national and county resources and services, as well as equality of treatment that considers the specific and distinct needs of different groups of people. Additionally, the policy outlines indicators to measure the implementation and effectiveness of gender and development initiatives and does so to ensure that sufficient resources and time are allocated to institutionalising gender equality and protecting those who are marginalised in the country.

The aim of the policy is “to create a society that is free from harmful practices, by eliminating FGM”. Some of the policy’s priority actions include accelerating the eradication of FGM by promoting public education and community dialogues on FGM, strengthening multi-sectoral coordination to eradicate FGM, addressing emerging trends and practices aimed at furthering the harmful practice, and addressing gender inequality associated with FGM by empowering those affected by FGM.

These Guidelines, issued by the Ministry of Health, deal with five aspects of sexual violence services. Namely, medical management, psychosocial support, forensic management of sexual violence, humanitarian issues, and quality assurance and improvement. The Guidelines act as a tool to provide general guidance to various actors who manage sexual violence in the country. From a legal standpoint, the Guidelines confirm that victims and survivors have the right to pursue legal action against perpetrators, to legal representation, and notably, to “recover from the violation at their own pace.”

Legislation:

The Act prohibits the publishing, producing, downloading, distributing, or possession of visual or audio child sexual exploitation material or data using a computer system. The Act also places protection against cyber harassment, which is committed when a person, individually or with others, communicates directly or indirectly with another person or someone known to them, causing apprehension, fear of violence, damage, loss of property, or detrimentally affecting the person. This includes indecent or grossly offensive communication.

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GBV trends and resources in Kenya

Following the 2008 post-electoral violence, sexual violence against women and girls in Kenya escalated, pointing to a larger, enduring issue in the country. Precise numbers on the number of people who experienced sexual assault and mutilation during this time are unknown. Disturbingly, this continues to be a trend during electioneering today.  The National GBV Network, which is a coalition of over 20 organisations, has looked into this issue, calling on the government to formulate effective strategies in place.

In a broader sense, the most common types of GBV in Kenya are physical violence, sexual violence, economic abuse, and emotional abuse. In the 2022 edition of the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) Demographic and Health Survey, it was recorded that 34% of women between the ages of 15 to 49 years old have experienced physical violence. An estimated 13% of girls across age brackets had experienced sexual violence. In terms of intimate partner violence, four in ten women who have ever had a husband or intimate partner have experienced violence.  The survey also paints a grim picture of the prevalence of female genital mutilation and cutting (FGM/C) – 15% of women between the ages of 15 and 49 years old are circumcised. The vast majority, however, believe that neither their religious or cultural beliefs require this.

The availability of GBV services and support mechanisms is insufficient. While there are structures such as counselling services in hospitals and gender desks in police stations, these are mostly located in urban areas.  In 2023, UNWomen Africa published a piece on the urgent call by civil society and human rights defenders for more GBV shelters. There are only 54 operational shelters across the country’s 47 counties.

School-related GBV (SRGBV) is also a common occurrence. In one study that looked at schools in 4 counties, many students expressed their experience with sexual harassment online. Further, about 71% of the girls surveyed between 13 and 17 years old indicated that they had been promised rewards in exchange for sexual favours. Some of the more commonly cited reasons for SRGBV included a lack of guidance/monitoring from parents and teachers, disobedience, and the consumption of sexually explicit content.

LGBTQIA+ rights are not protected in the country as same-sex relationships are illegal. In 2019,  following a petition filed by 3 LGBTQIA+ rights organisations, the High Court upheld Kenya’s anti-homosexuality laws, which mostly sit in the Penal Code. In February 2024, the Supreme Court upheld a ruling that denied the registration of the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission.

Online gender-based violence (OGBV ) is seemingly on the rise in Kenya. Those most vulnerable to OGBV include individuals with high visibility (such as journalists and politicians), women from minority groups, or members of the LGBTQIA+ community. In a study by KICTANet, most individuals who experienced OGBV were between the ages of 24 and 32 years old. Most incidents were perpetrated by people they did not know. The legal response to OGBV has been slow. While existing legislation may potentially be read to cover OGBV, only the Computer Misuse Cybercrime Act deals explicitly with online offences.

As is the case in other African states, a key driver of GBV in Kenya is attitudinal beliefs about a woman’s role. For example, there is a fairly widely held view that a man is entitled to discipline a woman. Views that regard boy children as more desirable than girls also feed into cycles of harm.

Early marriage is exacerbated by poverty, with girls who come from poorer households being twice as likely to marry when they are under the age of 18 years old. A lower level of education is also a contributing factor to early marriage.

Food insecurity has been found to intensify pre-existing drivers of GBV including poverty, the notion of traditional gender roles, and personal and/or community conflict.

Online GBV

In a study by KICTANet, 54% of respondents had experienced OGBV and 63% knew of someone who had experienced OGBV. Most of those with direct experience of OGBV were from rural areas.

As per Kenya’s legal framework, various institutions are involved in addressing GBV. Notable stakeholders include the Ministry of Public Service, Youth and Gender (Ministry of Gender) which implemented the National Policy on Gender and Development and the National Policy for the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation in 2019. These policies, respectively, aim to facilitate the execution of gender equality provisions and to provide strategies for combatting FGM through various sectors including health, education, security, and the justice system. The Ministry of Gender also launched a National GBV Hotline, established a project management unit that oversees the training of duty bearers and law enforcement on enforcing procedures to address GBV, established a sub-sector working group, and developed draft regulations and rules to operationalise the Protection Against Domestic Violence Act 2 of 2015.

The National Gender and Equality Commission (Commission) oversees policy implementation by state and non-state actors and has, on numerous occasions, condemned and addressed issues of sexual harassment in different workspaces. The Commission is also in the process of developing a gender mainstreaming tool.

In March 2023, the National Treasury and Economic Planning launched a GBV Action Plan which is aimed at adopting systems to address and prevent GBV including Sexual Exploitation and Abuse/Sexual Harassment Policies which will provide mitigation measures against any form of GBV outlined in the Action Plan.

Despite these measures, the government’s response to GBV during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic was considered dissatisfactory according to the Human Rights Watch which published a report on violence against women and girls during the COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya. The report, which was mainly based on 26 interviews carried out between June 2020 and February 2021, outlined, amongst other things, the government’s failure to provide social support services to people who experienced increased levels of GBV during lockdown.

Kenya Police Service

National GBV Hotline

  • Tel: 1195

Healthcare Assistance Kenya

Gender Violence Recovery Centre

FIDA Kenya

CREAW Kenya

LVCT Counselling Hotline

HIAS Kenya

Childline Kenya

  • Tel: 116 (hotline)/ +254 722 116 116
  • Email: [email protected]
  • Website: https://childlinekenya.co.ke/

Kituo Cha Sheria

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