For the past one week, the media has been inundated with stories on rape, and for once, on a positive note: the jailing to life imprisonment of men who raped children as young as 2 years. For those in movement championing women’s rights, this is a strong indication that the courts are finally, albeit in a slow way in implementing the Sexual Offences Act.

What is equally perturbing is although 80 percent of Kenyans are Christians, every day in the newspapers or television they seem to watch helplessly as stories of sexual violence among children are being reported. They do not condemn them, and continue to bury our heads in the sand as our children cry for help. 

Last week alone there were seven such stories of girls aged two, three, and seven years being defiled, smacking in the face massive advocacy efforts done to reduce such cases. Calls for law reforms and awareness campaigns among policy makers to provide a framework to fight this vice seems to have not had an impact. 

As the media reports such cases, does our society ever stopped to take stock and ask questions such us; why are our children not safe anymore? Or are have these cases become too normal that they are treated as business as usual? 

Over the years, the women’s movement have managed to break the silence about the issue; the international community has come up with interventions of  addressing the problem; and the national governments have ratified declaration to make sure that our women and children live in a society free of violence. 

All this seem to have made just a small impact, indicating that we should re-look at how we address issues of violence within our midst. Access to justice, health services and sexual reproductive health education are perhaps areas to start with.

One of the areas to focus on is the linkages between poverty and access to free justice for women as well as access to Anti-retroviral and contraceptives to prevent women and children from HIV infection and pregnancy. 

In terms of accessing ARV even for small children, especially in the rural settings, it is next to impossible. So often we sentence our children to an early grave because we have refused to care. We cut short their lives and shatter their dreams by our actions. 

The justice system too needs to be made friendly to children and women. Currently, very few women and children access this justice, and the few cases we read in the media are just a drop in the ocean. Many women and children on many occasions rely on alternative systems to resolve their dispute even in matters of sexual violence. Yet that alternative system of justice continues to perpetuate stereotypes and suppress women voices within the communities they live in. 

Children, boys or women are left to suffer silently after having their fate sealed by a group of old men or community elders.

There is need to have a zero tolerance policy on sexual violence the way we advocate zero tolerance on corruption. There is also need for political commitment where community and family put in place effective legal regimes and other measures to root out this menace once and for all.

In terms of strategy, we still need to continue with advocacy but at the same time pursue measures like counselling, community clinics throughout the country, legal aids, and access to legal justice. 

Time has come for each and every national government to make their country safe for women and children. We cannot afford to continue with business as usual when we are under attack from these prowling men. Our women and children need your help because no one is safe anymore.

The writer is the Executive Director of AWC Features

This article was also published in the Saturday Standard on July 19th 2008