African Woman and Child Feature Service

A spirited campaign to push for the enactment of a unified approach to address the linkages between violence against women and girls in the country is gaining momentum.

The campaign dubbed “Women Wont Wait” is rolling downhill in full speed leaving in its trail a huge cloud of dust.

Already plans are underway to press for the review, development and implementation of policies and laws to address violence against women and girls and HIV AIDS.

“The campaign seeks to ensure that at least all anti violence policies should contain clear and encompass definitions of violence against women, designate consultation processes that bring together all sectors, lay out frameworks for monitoring and indicators to measure progress,” adds Agnes Lelei who is a programme officer with Coalition of Violence Against Women (COVAW) which part of the campaign group.

The campaign being spearheaded by women rights, girl child and HIV/AIDS focused organizations aims at reducing HIV infections among women and girls by 10 percent and addressing gender based violence.

The group wants Government to initiate and take leadership in promoting public information on the contents of the provisions and implementation of the Sexual Offences Act and the HIV and Aids Act.

Further, they have incorporated a roll out plan to influence the government to step up the Post Rape Care services to all health facilities countrywide including provision of Post Exposure Prophylaxis at no charge to all survivors of sexual violence as a priority.

The group also wants the Government to take lead on the revival and operation of the national task force on gender based violence initially set up in 2006 as the structure to develop the “One Response Framework” with civil society, development partners and government involvement.

Under the campaign, women’s rights and HIV and AIDS organizations as well as other civil society actors will develop coordination mechanism and regular interactions as a way of providing the best possible support to survivors of sexual violence and HIV and AIDS infected.

The group will also Influence donors to commit to principles of harmonization and coordination of funding and technical support to initiatives that address the linkages between HIV and AIDs and violence against women and girls.

The campaign comes against a backdrop of damning revelations that women have been disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS with a higher number in the 15-49 age group infected compared to men and boys.

Statistics indicate that out of the 1.2 million Kenyans living with HIV/AIDS, 720,000 are women. Available gender disaggregated data indicates a higher vulnerability among women than men in most age groups except the 45-49 where men account for 5.2percent prevalence compared to 4 percent for women. The greatest gender disparities are in the 15-49 age group in which HIV prevalence among young girls and women is 8.7percent compare to the much lower 4.6 percent among boys and men.

Education which can provide better economic opportunities and empowerment for girls and young women is another area where the gender disaggregated figures reveal gaps.

With limited education, the choices available to girls in matters of sexuality are reduced as they stay on in violent and vulnerable relationships which can increase their susceptibility to HIV infection.

According to Lelei, violence is one of the factors triggering higher infection rates amongst girls and women in Sub Saharan Africa.

“It is also a consequence of HIV infection taking on dimensions such as physical abuse, property disinheritance and social and economic discrimination within the community and employment sectors,” adds Lelei during an interview with AWC.

She says the resulting impact of HIV and AIDS on girls and women is a retrogression of the precious gains

Physical and sexual violence are the most common forms of violence against women in Kenya. The 2003 Kenya Demographic Health Survey (KDHS) found that approximately 49 percent of women had experienced violence since age 15. The violence took place in private and public spaces. Majority of the perpetrators were known to the survivors.

According to the KDHS 2003, the main perpetrators were known to survivors. Husbands led in the pack at 57.8 percent, parents (38.3 percent) and teachers (26percent).

Among married women surveyed, 15 percent reported experiencing marital rape and the number was even higher for those who were divorced or separated at 25 percent.

Over 75 percent of the perpetrators of sexual violence against children are relatives. Organizations working with abused children found that those between the age of one to ten years were most vulnerable and particularly girls. The youngest survivor of sexual violence treated at the Gender Violence Recovery Centre (GVRC) in Nairobi was a baby girl aged one and a half months raped by a male relative in December 2006

The enactment of the Sexual Offences Act, 2006, has not been matched with adequate training and dissemination of the Act to law enforcement officers and relevant judicial system agents.

Most of the awareness that has been created on the Act has been conducted by Civil Society Organizations while it is the government’s role to ensure that the public is aware of any new laws.

Furthermore poor investigations of case results in the lack of conviction of offenders thus denying justice to survivors. The Act does not criminals FGM for women above the age of 18 years thus rendering them vulnerable to harmful cultural practices.

There is still no law to address domestic violence despite the fact Domestic Violence bill was drafted eight years ago.

The Women Wont Wait campaign approach on addressing the problem of violence against women and girls and HIV/AIDS espouses a “One Agreed Response framework to gender based violence a kin to the principle of one agreed HIV and Aids action framework which has been credited with helping to coordinate Kenya’s response to the disease.