Kajiado County is among the top 10 counties that has witnessed cases of Gender Based Violence (GBV).
Kajiado county Governor’s Spouse Edna Lenku in her campaign against GBV mentioned that back in the day, women from maa community were subjected to violence and abuse but they lacked a voice although this has changed over time because of organizations and individuals who have given them a voice.
“Earlier, we had cases of women being denied education, abused in marriages and rampant cases of female genital mutilation (FGM) in our communities, the whites came and taught us how dangerous FGM was, we learnt from their teachings and stopped practicing FGM, the same can happen with GBV,” said Mrs Lenku.
In her quest to end GBV, the Governor’s Spouse has called on everyone to take part and campaign against sexual violence, domestic violence and gender inequality in education.
“For GBV to end, we need to walk and work together. GBV is not only for women, men, the wealthy or poor, young or old but it can be directed to anyone and for this reason I call upon you to work together and fight against cases related to GBV”, added first lady.
This year, the County Government in partnership with stakeholders from the Kenya Red Cross, Wangu Kanja Foundation, Plan International, Forum for African Women Educationalists Kenya (FAWEK), World Vision and Bus Radio joined the country in marking 16 days of activism against GBV at KCB grounds in Kajiado.
Many non-government institutions have come up with programs and policies that guide and assist victims and survivors of sexual gender-based violence. For Wangu Kanja Foundation, Director Wangu Kanja revealed that, they provide counselling, treatment or medication and justice for victims of rape.
“What we do as a group we ensure people who have faced sexual abuse or rape are treated with the right medication, they are able to get justice and access the right counsellor”, said Kanja.
FAWE Kajiado County Coordinator Nelly Naserian said that, they support gender equality and gender equity, they campaign against harmful social cultural practices that are directed to women and champion against GBV.
During the 16 days of GBV activism event in Kajiado, it was noted that, high cost of living has also contributed to GBV cases, and in this case, men also get affected.
In this regard, Kajiado County bodaboda association chairman Fredrick Risa said that there are men who are afraid to speak when beaten by their wives because they cannot provide food, and in real sense, it’s not that they cannot provide, the money they get is not enough to match the cost of living.
Kanja also added that, people are still getting the same salary they used to earn before prices of commodities went up and the situation has caused conflicts in the families.