Alarm over rising GBV cases in Taita Taveta
Taita Taveta residents have been urged to work closely with authorities to halt rising cases of sexual abuse of children and gender-based violence.
County commissioner Rodah Onyancha on Tuesday raised the alarm over the increasing cases in the region, saying the crime was deeply rooted in the community.
Onyancha said the county has the highest number of GBV cases at the Coast region, reporting at least four cases of defilement and rape every week.
“Our weekly crime report shows that between four and five cases are reported every week. This is so alarming and has to be addressed,” Onyancha said.
The administrator said the fight against the crime was being slowed down by parents and guardians who collude with sex pests to solve cases out of court.
She asked chiefs and their assistants to lead the fight against the acts and warned that disciplinary action will be taken against administrators who fail in the duties.
Girls and old women in Taita Taveta have been targeted by sex pests. Most victims do not get justice due to lack of evidence or pressure from family members to drop their cases. The region has also been flagged for an increasing number of early marriages and Female Genital Mutilation.
Statistics by Action Aid show that rape is the major form of GBV in the county although most are solved the traditional way. A number of cases are never reported to authorities as families protect suspects for fear of suffering public agony.
More than 1,243 teens fell pregnant in the area between January and June this year, according to data collected by Sauti ya Wanawake.
The lobby group is currently reviewing the county policy on Sexual Gender-Based Violence. The forum spearheaded by Deputy Governor Majala Mlagui seeks to strengthen the policy to tame increasing cases of sexual abuse and early marriages.
Mlagui said the progress on the development of the policy has been a collaborative effort involving a multi-sectoral team. It comprises various actors drawn from the county government, the national government and development partners.
"As we finalise this document, we need to embrace both long-term and short-term interventions towards eradicating SGBV in our county as well as supporting the survivors,” Mlagui said.

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