The County Government of Nakuru has unveiled a new gender policy that will help promote equality and address gender imbalances in the devolved unit.
Deputy Governor David Kones explained that the policy was crafted to push for realization of sustainable development and offer guidelines for gender responsive planning and budgeting, while also providing a legal framework to fast track initiatives that seek to promote gender inclusion and equality.
Kones said the new framework aims to embed gender considerations into the county’s development initiatives and tackle Gender Based Violence (GBV), FGM among other gender related issues.
The Deputy Governor affirmed that the new policy advocates for strategies to ensure greater female participation and equal access to development resources and that it seeks to create a more inclusive and equitable society where women and men can participate fully in development.
He said the new policy would ensure women’s full and effective participation in leadership at all levels adding that there was need for equal access to opportunities and resources to promote women empowerment.
Kones spoke when he hosted a Technical Working Group (TWG) on Gender Based Violence (GBV) and femicide, led by the Chief Executive Officer of the National Youth Council and the TWG team lead, Ms Gloria Wawira.
While saying that the policy was targeted at promoting the realization of the two thirds gender rule by offering equal empowerment opportunities for women, girls and youth, Kones was happy that the framework would also strengthen already existing institutional structures aimed at eliminating all forms of violence.
The framework also seeks to substantiate Sexual Gender Based Violence occurrences by adopting the United Nations General Assembly’s indicators that measure the extent, prevalence, and incidence of SGBV and the county’s responses to SGBV, including policy changes, Kones elaborated.
“The policy will ensure a just society where all live free of discrimination, violence and marginalization and enjoy equal rights and opportunities for sustainable development,” he assured.
He voiced Governor Susan Kihika’s commitment to ensuring gender parity especially in recruitment and appointments at all levels and departments within the County.
The deputy governor said the County Government had also launched various empowerment programs focused on generating employment opportunities for GBV victims to help reduce their vulnerability.
He disclosed that the County Government in partnership with the Vilnius Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Crafts (Vilnius CCIC) had launched a new initiative for collecting data on sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) towards developing an SGBV management and information system to capture and integrate Gender Based Violence data from the National Police Service, the Judiciary, and the Office of Director of Public Prosecution, and the Health and Education sectors.
Vilnius CCIC is a network of Lithuanian business representatives and community that unites almost 500 Lithuanian companies from different business sectors.
Kones indicated that the SGBV management and information system was expected to enhance response mechanisms and ensure justice for victims, including persons living with disabilities (PWDs).
He said reported cases from the police department, treated cases of SGBV in hospitals, and prosecuted cases in the Office of Director of Public Prosecution, among others, will provide the avenue for data collection.
SGBV data collected from these five key sectors will then inform policies and effectively evaluate the framework for the prevention of and response to gender-based violence in Nakuru, added the deputy governor.
“This SGBV management and information system will give Kenyans more credible data to help quantify and qualify problems, inform policies, and design programmes based on evidence”, stated Kones.
Kenya is one of the most progressive countries in the region when it comes to legal and policy frameworks in the prevention and response to sexual and gender-based violence.
The 2010 Constitution contains expansive provisions regarding human rights, reinforced by the Sexual Offences Act 2006, the Children’s Act 2001, and the Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act 2011.
Despite there being very few gaps concerning legal norms in protecting women and girls from violations, it remains difficult to effectively evaluate the impact of these laws and policies.
SGBV remains a widespread issue in Kenya, affecting both men and women. Data shows 34 percent of women and 36 percent of men who have ever had an intimate partner have faced economic, psychological, physical or sexual violence.
Data from Nakuru County indicate that 31 percent of married women have experienced physical, sexual or emotional abuse. Despite these figures, underreporting remains a challenge due to stigma, fear and limited access to support services.
By Esther Mwangi
