This archive report was first published on 26 November 2019.
Published on November 26, 2019, a report by KPMG commissioned by Vodafone highlighted the devastating impact of domestic abuse on careers and businesses globally.
According to the report, an estimated 1.97 million working women in Kenya experienced domestic violence and abuse over the past 12 months.
More than one-third (38%) of victims surveyed reported reduced productivity, while 22% said they sometimes stopped going to work or took days off.
Locally, the study estimates that over 505,000 working women took time off work due to domestic abuse in the past year, resulting in a loss of $50 million (Ksh. 5.1 billion) in economic output for Kenyan businesses annually.
Safaricom has partnered with Healthcare Association Kenya, an NGO that operates a Sexual and Gender-Based Violence rapid response call centre.
As part of their partnership, Safaricom has zero-rated the toll-free line (1195), enabling quick access to services such as nearest hospitals and police stations, as well as psychological support to victims.
Michael Joseph, CEO of Safaricom PLC, stated, 'As part of our partnership with Healthcare Association Kenya, we have zero-rated their toll-free line (1195) enabling quick access to services such as nearest hospitals and police stations as well as psychological support to victims. In the past, the Safaricom Foundation has also partnered with the Gender Violence Recovery Centre through the provision of grants to enable medical treatment and psychosocial support to survivors of Gender-based violence.'
