I left corporate law to fight for rape survivors
Alice Kinyua, a lawyer and founder of Friends for Justice speaking to Nation.Africa in her office in Kilifi town on November 13, 2024. Her initiative offers survivors of SGBV free legal representation.
What you need to know:
- Alice Kinyua shocked her colleagues when she abandoned a promising career in corporate law to fight for sexual violence survivors in Kilifi.
- Through Friends for Justice, she has helped secure convictions in 80 per cent of their 930 cases.
- She has provided free legal representation, counselling, and education support to over 1,600 survivors, and transformed how communities handle sexual violence.
- Despite the emotional toll of the work, she remains committed to expanding her initiative across Kenya's coastal region.
The morning sun streams through the windows of the Kilifi Law Courts as Alice Kinyua rushes through the corridors, her determination evident in every step.
"I have three defilement cases today," she says, dashing to the courtroom where her passionate advocacy for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) demonstrates how far she's come from her corporate law days.
Just a few years ago, Alice was charting a different path. As a promising commercial lawyer, her future seemed set in the lucrative world of corporate law. Her colleagues and friends were stunned when she abruptly changed course, abandoning what many considered a prestigious career path for the challenging and often heart-breaking field of SGBV cases. The decision left many questioning her judgment – why would anyone leave such a promising career in commercial law for what was considered a less prestigious field?
The catalyst for her transformation came through an unexpected pattern.
"My colleagues would always ask me to hold brief for them in court," Alice recalls.
"On closer scrutiny, I realised all these cases touched on SGBV. The trend really alarmed me. It dawned on me that SGBV cases were not being treated as a priority. I sympathised with the survivors who were seeking justice through these cases. I decided I had to do something to help them get justice."
Without hesitation, Alice immersed herself in the SGBV space, founding Friends for Justice in 2015. The initiative has become a cornerstone in fostering and protecting the rights of survivors through legal representation, rescue and restoration of victims, public education, and awareness on sexual violence.
The impact reaches far beyond the courtroom. Survivors and caregivers receive counselling and psycho-social support, while witnesses benefit from similar services. The initiative even provides caregivers with seed capital to start small businesses, recognising that economic empowerment is crucial for lasting change.
The cases they handle paint a sobering picture of the challenges facing the community. Defilement, sexual assault, incest, sodomy, and neglect make up the majority of their caseload, with about 90 per cent involving minors. To ensure justice is served, Alice and her team have focused on strengthening the foundations of these cases.
"In 2020 and 2021, we experienced a lot of acquittals due to poor evidence collection and preservation," she explains.
"We decided to work with investigating officers on better ways of evidence preservation, which has borne fruits. We have also observed an increase in convictions due to the creation of SGBV courts which gives priority to sexual violence cases touching on children."
The numbers tell a story of growing success. Since 2019, Friends for Justice has handled 930 SGBV cases, providing free legal representation across four stations: Kilifi, Malindi, Kaloleni, and Mariakani. This year alone, 77 active cases await determination in court. Their education sponsorship program has supported 1,609 survivors from primary through university level, offering hope for a brighter future beyond the trauma.
At the grassroots level, the initiative has created a powerful network of legal champions across Kilifi's 35 wards, with 11 champions in each ward reporting and monitoring SGBV cases.
"The presence of legal champions at the ward level has helped locals better understand the dangers of engaging in SGBV and what the law says. This is working as a deterrent," Alice notes.
One of the initiative's most innovative components is the "little friends for justice" school clubs. Under teacher patronage, these clubs educate pupils about preventing sexual violence and creating reporting pathways for cases. The physical space of justice has been transformed too, with a child-friendly courtroom featuring cartoon drawings on the walls where survivors give testimony, and a holding room for witnesses and survivors who travel from afar.
Behind these improvements stands a dedicated team of advocates, social workers, counsellors, community engagement officers, teachers, and education sponsorship officers, all supported by both local and international donor funding. Each team member plays a crucial role in ensuring survivors receive comprehensive support throughout their journey to justice.
Alice's initiative helps survivors of SGBV get access to justice.
The need for such comprehensive support becomes clear through stories like Jackline Furaha's*. The mother of six recalls the horrifying discovery that awaited her after returning from the hospital with her new-born.
"I found one of my daughters complaining of severe stomach ache and passing blood in her urine," she says, speaking from her modest home near Kilifi town. After gentle questioning, her daughter revealed she had been defiled by Jackline's estranged husband and one of his relatives.
“We took her to the hospital where the doctors confirmed that she had been defiled. The two were arrested and taken to court. The cases were successful through the help of Friends for Justice and the culprits were both jailed. One was jailed for life and the other one for 18 years," says Jackline, who makes her living as a fish monger in the outskirts of Kilifi town.
"I was very happy when the two were jailed and I thank Friends for Justice for helping my daughter get justice. If it were not for them, I do not think she would have got justice as I could not afford to get a lawyer. May God bless them."
Similar gratitude comes from Zawadi Rashid*, a chicken seller in Tezo town, whose daughter found justice after defilement by Zawadi's former husband.
"The organisation took up the case and shouldered all the costs including legal representation. In the end, the man I called my husband was jailed for 20 years. I feel that she got justice and I am happy for it," she says, her voice carrying both relief and lingering pain.
The emotional toll of this work is substantial, affecting not just the survivors but also those who fight for them.
"As a lawyer who handles SGBV cases, I must admit that most of them usually disturb me mentally and bring a lot of frustrations. It is normally worse for me especially when the accused is acquitted," Alice confides. She undergoes at least four counselling sessions per year to cope with the emotional burden of her work, recognising the importance of maintaining her own mental health to continue helping others.
Mental health
Salome Gathoni, a counsellor for Friends for Justice, understands these challenges intimately. "Most of the survivors normally have to undergo counselling to end anxiety, fear and trauma caused by the abuse," she explains. "Apart from counselling, we also offer psycho-social support mostly to deal with trauma, which if untreated causes mental health issues. We normally refer the severe cases to psychiatrists for specialised treatments."
The scope of their work extends to caregivers as well. "We also give counselling and psycho-social support to caregivers at times who are the parents and guardians who are very critical to give the much needed to ensure emotional healing to the survivors," Gathoni adds, highlighting the ripple effect of sexual violence on entire families.
The scale of the challenge remains daunting. According to the 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, 20 per cent of women aged 15-49 have experienced physical violence since age 15, with 12 per cent experiencing sexual violence. More troublingly, 30 per cent of ever-married women in this age group have faced physical, sexual, or psychological violence from their most recent partner.
Hope comes through initiatives like the Wajibika na Unawiri project, funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation and supported by UN Women. The project works to intensify efforts to end violence against women and girls in Kilifi County.
UN Women Kenya Country Representative Antonia Ngabala-Sodonon emphasises the importance of community-based solutions: "The 16 Days of Activism campaign underscores the urgent need to tackle gender-based violence through solutions that reflect the realities of local communities, supported by strong and strategic partnerships that aim at preventing and responding to violence against women and girls."
The Italian Cooperation has shown strong commitment to this cause, supporting the 'Let It Not Happen Again' project, which aims to strengthen legal frameworks, improve access to justice, and empower survivors. Their work in Kilifi has highlighted the crucial role of community-driven efforts in amplifying survivors' voices and promoting lasting change.
Looking ahead, Alice envisions expanding the initiative to neighbouring Taita-Taveta, Kwale, Mombasa, and Lamu counties. Her ten-year goal includes empowering more children through the school clubs and addressing the root causes of SGBV by working to reduce dysfunctional families, which she identifies as a key driver of sexual violence.
As the sun sets over Kilifi, Alice's commitment remains unwavering. The path she chose may not have led to corporate boardrooms, but it has led to something far more precious: hope and justice for survivors who might otherwise have nowhere to turn.
*Furaha and Zawadi’s real names hidden to protect the survivors’ identity.
