Impact Of Sexual And Gender-Based Violence
Sexual and gender-based violence impact negatively on victims , with the affected person suffering from devastating short and long-term consequence in their physical and mental health . There are also unwanted pregnancies and sexual transmitted infections including HIV . Other common consequences include depression , victimisation by the society and lost opportunities including employment and educational . It is also of note that there is a direct corelation between areas where there are high incidences of SGBV with poverty , alcoholism and sexually transmitted diseases .
Protection Against Sexual And Gender-Based Violence
The Constitution of Kenya and the Laws of Kenya
Under Chapter 4 of the Constitution , the rights of women , men , boys and girls are safeguarded . The courts are also there to address infringement of the rights of individuals . The rights in marriage and of children are also protected in the Constitution . No one should be subjected to any form of torture , whether in public or in private .
The Acts of parliament protecting individuals against Sexual and Gender- Based Violence include the Sexual Offences Act 2006 , which define and penalise sexual offenses , Protection Against Domestic Violence Act 2015 which criminalizes and out-laws domestic violence , Prohibition Against Female Genital Mutilation Act 2011 , which outlaws harmful cultural practices including female circumcision . ( In this Act , there are offenses for persons aiding in the act of female genital mutilation , including medical personnel ), and The Counter Trafficking in Persons Act 2011 , which protect individuals against being trafficked for the purpose of exploitation .
Other laws that have been used in protection of individuals against any of sexual and gender-based violence include marriage act 2014 ( defining and recognising marriage under various arrangements ), matrimonial property Act 2013 ( allowing for equal rights to properties by marriage partners ), Law of succession Act ( indicating how property of the deceased is devolved when there is a will or where there is none ), Employment
Act 2015 ( defining the fundamental rights of employees . It also criminalises sexual harassment at work . Do you know that if you have employed more that 20 persons you are obliged to have a sexual harassment policy at the work place ?) Children Act 2014 and Education Act 2013 .
There are also laws which are followed once complaints of sexual and genderbased violence have been lodged . These laws include the Evidence Act CAP 80 ( providing for the procedures of collecting evidence to be used in court ), Criminal Procedure Code CAP 75 and Civil Procedure Code CAP 12 .
Policy and institutional framework
There are various policies that have been developed to address the issue of Sexual and Gender-Based violence and they include the National Policy on Gender and Development 2000 , The National Plan Action to Implement Gender Policy , National plan of action for Abandonment of FGM and many others .
The institutions that are concerned with enforcement of various actions on this subject include Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government , the Office of the Attorney General and Department of Justice , Office of the Director of Public Prosecution , the Judiciary , Ministry of Health , Ministry of Education , Science and Technology and the County Governments .
There are also gender desks at various police stations whose sole tasks are to address the subject matter .
Within selected hospitals , Ministry of Health have established Gender Based violence Recovery Centres and have developed National Guidelines for the management of sexual violence and provided post exposure prophylaxis and emergency contraception to survivors of sexual violence .
International laws
Include the International Declaration of Human Rights ( IDHR ) adopted in 1948 by the United Nations and provided a comprehensive and fundamental international agreement for combating violence against violence , the Convention on Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women ( CEDAW ), a tool on advocating for the right of women nationally and internationally and came into being in the year 1981 . There are also many other international treaties covering specific aspects of protection of rights of individuals against violence .
Challenges Experienced
Even though there have been established legal and institutional frameworks to deal with sexual and gender-based violence , there are still many challenges experienced .
Cases of female genital mutilation are still going on , though sporadic , in some areas . This is due to the strong cultural attachment to the practice . In addition , there is also no strong political commitment from those regions for fear by the politicians of losing political support .
Culture still plays a big role in domestic and intimate partner violence . In some situations , victims fail to report cases of SGBV due to coercion by the community not to do so . Rape victims are also victimised and hence at times fear coming out .
Cases that have been taken to court also take too long and , in some cases , witnesses fail to appear to testify . There have also been reports of evidence collected for the purpose of DNA analysis in cases of rape overstaying in the collection centres , leading to a question of their evidentiary value , due to a break in the chain of custody and specimen deterioration .
As noted above , there is a strong relationship between areas in which there is a high prevalence of SGBV and poverty . Poverty hence plays a big challenge in management of these cases .
Conclusion
There is a need for greater deliberate commitment by the government in addressing the SGBV challenge . The government also need to address poverty by coming up with poverty alleviation programmes . Wananchi also need to be sensitized on recognition of cases of SGBV and ensure that they report these cases promptly for the purpose of timely intervention .
Dr . Johansen Oduor , MBChB ( UoN ), MMed Path ( UoN ), LLB Hons ( UoN ), Dip for Med ( College of Medicine South Africa ), is a Forensic Pathologis / Medicolegal Specialist and President Emeritus , African Society Forensic Medicine . You can commune with him via mail at : Johansenoduor @ gmail . com .