There are more cases of sexual gender-based violence that go unreported than those that are reported, a taskforce has said.
The Presidential Technical Working Group on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and Femicide on Wednesday said there are increasingly rampant cases of rape, femicide, mental health and suicide among women and men, a worrying trend that must be arrested immediately.
The fact that majority of the cases go unreported should be a cause for alarm, explaining that this affects the government’s ability to adequately address the matter through allocation of resources.
“We have witnessed many cases that are unreported compared to the ones that are reported. We should report to get statistics, which will aid the government in planning and allocation of resources to the cases,” the technical working group’s chair Anne Ireri said.
She spoke at the Tononoka Social Hall in Mombasa where the taskforce conducted a public participation exercise to collect views on how best to curb GBV and femicide.
The taskforce is collecting public views to come up with further laws to curb the menace.
Speakers linked the GBV, femicide and suicide cases to mental health, saying they are interlinked.
Ireri said the taskforce will not ignore the cases but will delve deeper to ascertain the nexus between suicide cases and mental health.
“If we do not address them, a person suffering from mental health issues poses the risk of harming their family,” she said.
She encouraged victims of GBV to report abuse cases, whether in schools, religious institutions, in police stations, or in hospitals, saying perpetrators are everywhere and could be anyone.
Ireri said community should be watchful and be a brother’s keeper.
“If community collaborates better with government, these cases will be reported more and there will be action, which will discourage perpetrators,” Ireri said.
Parents, teachers, religious leaders and opinion leaders should also check on the content children are scanning in the Internet through social media.
“Although the Internet has eased our work, many bad things are going on. Technology is good, but let’s be open to the dark side of technology, especially with our children, Gen Z,” she said.
Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir said social media is not the cause.
“It is the mirror. It is revealing the rot we have ignored for too long,” Nassir said.
He said cultural norms, societal expectations and the disintegration of the family unit are central to the national crisis.
“We must confront these uncomfortable truths, reflect deeply on our values and change our societal trajectory,” the governor said.
He said his administration welcomes and supports inter-agency cooperation in ending the menace once and for all.
Mombasa county commissioner Mohammed Nur said the government is taking more strict measures and working faster, to ensure the menace is dealt with.
He warned perpetrators and abettors of GBV in Mombasa, vowing to ensure they are apprehended and charged swiftly.
His sentiments come in the wake of two shocking cases in Kisauni and Likoni subcounties.
In Kisauni, a senior official of the Independent Electoral and Boundary Commission was brutally killed while in Likoni a woman was hacked to death with her body stashed in a gunny bag and dumped in a dumpsite.
“We have apprehended all the suspects in the gruesome murders and the cases are ongoing in court,” Nur said.
“Those committing these crimes, especially defilement and sodomy, their days are numbered. Crime doesn’t pay, we will arrest you from your hideouts,” he said.
The county commissioner said they have received numerous cases of abuse in orphanages where they have now turned their attention to.
He said to curb femicide cases in short-stay apartments, they have issued firm instructions to the owners to strictly register the details of all guests.
“They shouldn’t agree to give out rooms without knowing the details of the guests, so that if they are young girls, they can alert the area chief and other authorities for swift action,” he said.
Mombasa Woman Representative Zamzam Mohamed called for the strengthening of GBV laws to firmly deal with sexual offenders.
She said more stringent laws need to be put in place to deal with offenders.
Mohamed said parents must have candid talks with their daughters to be extra vigilant and avoid being lured by sex predators and killers.
“They should have dignity and not accept to go out with strangers they meet on social media,” she said.
Muslim for Human Rights senior human rights officer Topister Juma said the Judiciary should expedite the hearing and determination of GBV cases.
“Most cases drag in court, taking years to be solved to the chagrin of victims,” she said.
Yusra Mohamed, an advocate, said preventive measures should be instituted to prevent the occurrence of femicide through the setup of a response mechanism to report cases.
“If we nip it in the early stages, then we will not have femicide. If a person’s life is in danger and she reports, the perpetrator will not be in a position to commit that particular offence,” Yusra said.
by BRIAN OTIENO
