This archive report was first published on 25 August 2020.
Gender-Based Violence on the Rise in Nairobi's Slums ¶
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the world, Nairobi's slums have witnessed a disturbing surge in cases of gender-based violence (GBV). According to data collected by Shining Hope for Communities (Shofco), a community-based initiative established in urban slums in Nairobi, Kisumu, and Mombasa, the rise in GBV cases has been particularly pronounced in the wake of the pandemic.
For 19-year-old Betty Ondisa, a student at Elite Vision High School in Kibra, the late-night celebrations to usher in the New Year on December 31, 2019, presaged scars that still linger months later. On her way home, she was accosted by a young man known for petty crimes, who threatened her with a knife before dragging her into an isolated house where she was gang-raped by four men.
One of the perpetrators, she says, '…did not rape me. He 'sympathised with me.'
Despite the perpetrators being arrested, Betty occasionally meets some of them in the neighborhood, highlighting the challenges of containing the scourge of GBV in informal settlements.
According to Caroline Sakwa, the gender director at Shofco, the issue of GBV extends beyond the usual forms of domestic violence, child abuse, and defilement, and includes emotional abuse, physical assault, negligence, sodomy, indecent acts, trafficking, and attempted defilement.
Ms. Sakwa cites a recent defilement case of a 12-year-old, in which one of the perpetrators was a 16-year-old who was considered a minor and easily got off the hook.
Shofco has reported a significant increase in GBV cases, with 504 cases received from January to May 2020, a period during which the disease had been confirmed in the country. At the rate, Ms. Ochieng' feels the cases could exceed the 1,000 mark by the end of the year.
Ms. Sakwa adds that the biggest problem is that many perpetrators remain free, exposing the victims and others to the perpetrators. She also notes that community perception regarding the issue leads to them protecting rather than reporting perpetrators.
Shofco's efforts to control the vice are further hampered by lack of legal representation of the victims and the incorporation of informal courts to pay off victims to drop their charges.
According to data collected by Shofco, in 2017, 636 cases were reported, in 2018, 724 cases were reported, while in 2019, 825 cases were reported.
For 30-year-old Prisca Vieliza, her pregnancy with her second child in 2018 marked the genesis of her tribulations. She was sent to their rural home to deliver and later found out that her husband had married someone else. She was left stranded with two children, no money, homeless, and at the mercy of the rough city.
She was forced to 'get married' to the first man she met – a boda boda rider – and consequently got 'married' to four other men in a span of five months. She says the 'husbands' took advantage of her desperation and abused her before kicking her and her children out.
She ended up roaming the streets during the day and spending the nights in a roadside shack, where she stayed for several weeks before help came.
Despite reporting them to the local chief and the police, those who abused her in the short-lived 'marriages' still go about their businesses, freely.
She is, however, grateful she was afforded accommodation and provisions in a safe-house where she now stays with her two children.
Published on August 25, 2020, at 10:34 PM.
