Kenya: Why Domestic Violence Must Be Eradicated
By Jonathan S. Gration, 24 November 2011
opinion
Gender-based violence is a global pandemic that cuts across ethnicity, race, socio-economic status, and religion.
It can threaten women and girls at any point in their life -- from female infanticide and inadequate access to education to child marriage, incest, and so-called "honour" killings.
It can take the form of domestic violence, rape (including spousal rape), sexual exploitation and abuse, trafficking in persons, or the neglect and ostracism of widows.
One in three women around the world experiences some form of gender-based violence in her lifetime.
In Kenya,
almost 40 per cent of women have suffered physical violence at some point after age 15, with two-thirds reporting that the perpetrator was a current or former husband or partner.
This year, we again mark "Sixteen Days of Activism Against Gender Violence" commencing today with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and ending on December 10 with International Human Rights Day.
This is an opportunity to highlight and promote effective programmes that are already successfully mitigating violence against women while increasing accountability by community and government leaders on this issue.
The US Government partners with many organisations in Kenya working to eradicate gender-based violence and provide services to the victims.
Just last week, the US Agency for International Development and the Centre for Rights Education and Awareness, launched the second phase of the Gender-Based Violence Programme in Kibera, that provides case management and legal services to victims of gender violence.
Usaid's $600,000 (Sh57m) grant will empower women to speak out and seek help when confronted with violence. It will also bring together male advocates in the community working to end abuse.
Negative attitudes
These 16 days are a sobering reminder that gender-based violence cannot be treated solely as a women's issue.
More than just an affront to human rights and dignity, gender-based violence adversely affects the welfare of our communities.
When women and girls are abused, businesses close, incomes shrink, families go hungry, and children grow up internalising behaviour that perpetuates the cycle of violence.
Men and boys are the key to turning around the negative attitudes that render women and girls undervalued and vulnerable.
Their engagement is necessary to overcome the impunity that too often leaves the most egregious perpetrators unaccountable for their crimes.
No country or part of the world is immune to the costs of gender-based violence. In the US, for example, the cost of violence against women exceeds $5.8 billion per year.
Some may say efforts at intervention are prohibitively expensive. Although investing resources in the prevention and prosecution of acts of aggression against women may cost money, the investment pays enormous dividends in the long run.
The United States' Violence Against Women Act, which strengthened efforts to investigate and prosecute such crimes, has saved more than $16 billion since its enactment in 1994.
In Kenya to date, post-rape care services have been integrated in 23 health facilities (one national hospital, three provincial hospitals, and 19 district hospitals).
We need to expand the number. We also need to ensure the next generation of Kenyan women grows up free from violence.
Maj-Gen Gration is the US ambassador to Kenya.
allAfrica.com: Kenya: Why Domestic Violence Must Be Eradicated
