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Kenya: Kilifi Girls Blame Tough Parenting for Not Reporting GBV Cases

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4 years ago

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Young girls in Kilifi have disclosed that their parents’ harshness is the reason they don’t speak out about their gender-based violence (GBV) experiences at school and in the community.

The girls said their parents discriminate against them in favour of their brothers all the time.

They spoke during a GBV awareness forum at the Garashi ACK Church in Garashi, Magarini Sub-county yesterday.

Dinda Ivone, a Form Four student at Garashi Secondary School said most of the challenges they face start at the family level.

“Some of our parents are too harsh, making it difficult for us to open up whenever we are abused,” she said.

She noted that whenever a brother and sister, for example, ask for a revision book from their parents at the same time, the boy gets it immediately, while the girl has to wait and may never even get it.

“Now, since you did not get the book because you are a girl, you lose your self-esteem and sometimes start hating your brother and parents,” said Ms Ivone.

Suffering silently

The teenager noted that many girls, as a result, prefer suffering silently whenever they are abused instead of telling their parents who are never ready to listen to them.

“This is affecting many girls and because they do not have someone to open up to when abused, they end up living with the pain despite the shame in the society,” said Ms Ivone.

She narrated how some girls have ended up committing suicide.

“We always question why a girl has committed suicide. The community will always blame them without finding out what could have prompted it,” she said.

Ms Ivone said some girls have ended up dropping out of school as a result.

“Many of the girls who have dropped out of school did not do so because they got pregnant, others might be going through psychological torture as a result of abuse but their parents were not there for them,” she said.

Sexually abused

Betty Pendo from Kakuhani village said most parents blame the girls for their plight.

“Parents are not ready to listen to their children. A girl is sexually abused and because the parents did not expect it to happen, they turn against her and blame her for accepting to be sexually abused,” she said.