Kilifi County Gender, Youth, Social Services and Culture Executive Committee member Dr Anisa Omar, has called for more funding to fight gender-based violence (GBV) in the county.

In the 2020/21 financial year, her department received a 1.9 per cent share of the total Sh13 billion budget, which is equivalent to Sh258 million.

She said while the county committed to ending GBV, more resources were needed to expand delivery of services for the survivors and enhance intervention programmes.

“(There is need) to increase financing and budgetary allocation for gender-based violence prevention and response, including reform and implementation of laws, policies, and multi-sectoral county action plans in resources across sectors,” she said on Tuesday during a youth forum at Juwaba Social Hall in Kilifi North Sub-county.

Sexual violence

The forum was convened by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) under the Kenya Ni Mimi Youth dialogue platform spearheaded by the Ministry of ICT, Innovation and Youth Chief Administrative Secretary Nadia Abdalla.

She said although the county has two GBV recovery centres in Kilifi County Hospital and Malindi Sub-county Hospital, it only attends to survivors of sexual violence, leaving out those who suffer others forms of GBV.

With adequate financing, the county would expand the capacity of its facilities to meet the needs of all the survivors, she said.

She indicated the county’s commitment to “set up a co-financing model to create a pathway towards gender responsiveness and establish a survivors’ fund and research fund for GBV prevention and response.”

Kilifi has the highest rates (97.9 per cent) of rape in Kenya, as per the 2014 report by National Crime Research Centre.

GBV survivors

Data provided by Dr Omar reflects this high prevalence. In the past 11 months, 1,870 cases of GBV had been reported in the county, which means that five men, women, boys or girls are subjected to the violence each day.

During the forum, the local young men and women decried the lack of government commitment to protect GBV survivors.

“Why should a survivor in Kilifi be told to travel all the way to Mtwapa to report a rape or defilement case? Then travel back to Kilifi for treatment. It is tortuous. Some don’t even have the money for logistics. All these challenges discourage a survivor from reporting or seeking justice,” said Amina Musa.

She wondered why the survivors are not protected by the government yet they are always at risk of being harmed by the perpetrators.

“Some police officers mock survivors. They ask them to show them how they were defiled. Is it that they are not trained on how to handle survivors or they are just inhuman?” wondered Ayub Ahmed.

While UNFPA representative for Kenya Dr Ademola Olajide, urged the youth to take lead in fighting against all forms of GBV, he lay emphasis on acting on measures aimed at ending gender inequalities as that is the key to tackling the social pandemic.

Gender inequalities

“Gender-based violence is deeply rooted in gender inequalities and that is why it is fundamental that we begin to have systems in place that respond to the rights of all irrespective of gender,” he said.

President Uhuru Kenyatta’s pronouncements on GBV have been impactful in accelerating the push towards eliminating the vice, he observed.

“There are now more male duty bearers in the counties including county commissioners, politicians beginning to speak openly against female genital mutilation unlike before,” he said.

ICT, Innovation and Youth Chief Administrative Secretary Nadia Ahmed Abdalla, encouraged the youth to safeguard their future by campaigning against GBV.

“Young men hold your fathers and grandfathers accountable. Find out why they are violating young girls and stop them from doing so,” she said.

[email protected]