Monday, 15 June 2026
Kenyan Digest

1/5 women in Kenya are sexually harassed via phone - KBC

2 min read
Published 5 March 2020

Truecaller today released the most comprehensive Truecaller Insights report to date.

Appalling headline right? This insight has been released by Truecaller, courtesy of research conducted by Ipsos. In a bid to understand the impact of harassment calls & SMSs for women in Kenya and several other countries (including India, Brazil, Egypt and Colombia), the report reveals that 1 out of 5 women in Kenya receive harassment and nuisance calls and SMSs.

Check out these are the key findings from the report:

  • Sexual and inappropriate calls are most common among women in Nairobi, where 1 out of 5 women receive this type of communication.
  • 47% of all the sexual harassment calls/SMS comes from inmates in Kenya, while 53% come from unknown people. The fact that the harassers are selecting women at random to harass is perplexing and irritating! What’s the point?!
  • Despite it being common for women to receive sexual or inappropriate calls/SMS, there’s a disconcertingly low percentage of women who think these types of calls constitute harassment. In fact only 11% of all women who have received sexual harassment calls/SMSs consider it as harassment.
  • Women in urban areas are being the most affected by sexual harassment calls/SMS. The top most affected areas are: Nairobi, Mombasa, Kiambu and Nakuru
  • Only 2 out of 10 women in Kenya have taken action against harassment calls, and even fewer ever report this to the authority (6%). For Kenyan women, with little support from authorities and local attitudes, harassment often has to be severe before women speak out. The most common actions against harassment calls are:

49% blocked the number

40% ignored the calls/SMS

Get breaking news on your Mobile as-it-happens. SMS ‘NEWS’ to 20153

32% called their operator for help

29% told the harasser to stop

6% reported to authorities

The research reveals that harassment elicits strong reactions from women, anger and irritation being the most common feelings, not to mention fear and worry!

Tell Us What You Think