Gender, Culture and Children Services Cabinet Secretary Hanna Cheptumo has appealed to Kenyans to embrace dialogue as an alternative family dispute resolution mechanism.
According to Cheptumo, some of the family related disputes that have in the recent days degenerated into cases of GBV, could have been resolved amicably through dialogue thereby preventing the unnecessary loss of lives or injury to the victims.
The CS is now calling on members of the community to work towards the restoration of family values and ideals that held the family units together.
“We need to sit together as the government, church and the community and establish where we lost our way and the values such as respect, patience and courtesy. We must also embrace dialogue, so that we are able to solve our issues cordially instead of resorting to GBV or suicide,” she stated.
Cheptumo remarks come in the wake of rising Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) cases in the country.
According to a 2024 report by Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research, about 34 per cent of women have experienced physical violence since age 15, while 13 per cent of women have experienced sexual violence at some point in their lives.
The report also showed that out of a total of 8,149 victims of SGBV crimes in Kenya in 2021, 92 per cent of these victims were female and 8 per cent were male.
On the downside, the findings also showed that many cases of GBV go unreported due to threat, stigma, isolation and social exclusion, which exposes the victims to further violence at the hands of the perpetrators.
But in her remarks in Nyeri during celebrations held to mark International Widows Day, which also doubled us as the national GBV sensitization forum, the CS urged the victims to report these incidents to authorities in order to ensure the perpetrators are held to account.
“All of us must say ‘No’ to Sexual and Gender Based Violence. In addition, we also need urgent and concerted efforts to end SGBV especially against women and children. To our men, my appeal to you is to respect yourselves,” she said.
Others present during the event included Gender Principal Secretary Anne Wang’ombe, Nyeri Deputy Governor Warui Kinaniri, Nyeri County Commissioner Ronald Mwiwawi, Nyeri Town Member of Parliament, Duncan Maina, Women Representatives Rahab Mukami (Nyeri) and Ann Muratha (Kiambu).
Whilst underscoring the need for sensitization on GBV matters, Nyeri elected leaders attributed the rising cases of SGBV in the county to drug abuse and consumption of illicit brews among men.
They also blamed some parents for delegating their parental responsibilities to neighbours and relatives,thus exposing the children to abuse.
“We are witnessing a sudden wave of bizarre SGBV incidents in this county, many of which are being perpetuated by people with a history of alcohol or drug abuse. We have reached a point where we need to sit together and agree on how to address sexual abuse in our community because we cannot go on like this,” said the county Women Rep.
On his part, the Nyeri Town legislator expressed his concern that 90 per cent of the perpetrators of many forms of abuse are men and urged them to uphold their morals.
At the same time, Mathenge called for the immediate abolition of Kangaroo courts system in the villages, which he noted are denying justice to the victims of abuse.
The MP cited incidents especially in the informal settlements, where family members had resorted to settling SGBV cases through arbitration.
“This habit of resolving abuse cases through the kangaroo system because a family member has abused their relative has to come to an end.
We cannot allow victims to continue to suffer emotional and psychological trauma because their relatives are trying to save the image of the family.
Going forward, we want all the abuse cases including defilement to be settled through the court so that victims receive justice,” stated Mathenge.
By Wangari Mwangi and Christine Mumbi
