State has made strides in addressing domestic abuse

The shocking news of a 16 year old woman who was kidnapped and abused drew the nation’s attention to one of the unintended consequences of the battle against coronavirus.

Millions of women in Kenya and across the world, who face the threat of domestic abuse, are now permanently stuck at home.

While under usual circumstances leaving the house provides them with a much needed respite, the current lockdown makes the situation much harder.

Government statistics show that 45 per cent of women have experienced physical abuse. Almost 1/7 have fallen victim to sexual violence.

The government has made the fight against domestic violence a priority. It has put in place an agenda that seeks to prevent and respond to domestic abuse issues as part of a broader goal to eradicate violence from our society.

The first step taken by government to address this problem has been raising an awareness among women. This is important among women in rural areas. The women are often unaware of who they can turn to for help in cases of domestic abuse. The government has promoted a countrywide campaign to ensure that all victims of domestic abuse are assisted.

With the government’s support, local councils have ensured that every region of the country    has at least one facility to deal with cases of domestic abuse. Every county has similarly introduced a local hotline that works around the clock to support victims of domestic abuse. Finally and with the help of government funding, counties are now providing legal advice and counselling services to survivors.

The government has implemented three legislative and policy frameworks since 2013. Primary among these has been the National Guidelines on the Management of Sexual Violence (2014), which have been significant in defining sexual violence not only as health issue, but also as a human rights issue.

The guidelines created the legal structure that medical practitioners could use to provide evidence in court to pursue perpetrators.

Next has been the Protection Against Domestic Violence Act (2015) which has intensified the battle against violence.

The definition now includes economic and emotional abuse, forced marriages, and “any other conduct against a person that harms or may cause imminent harm to the safety, health, or the well-being of the person”.

The National Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health Policy (2015) is the third policy framework that has been instrumental in the battle against domestic and sexual violence.

Instead of simply reacting to cases of abuse, the policy set the stage for a framework that will assist in the early detection of abuse.

Treating victims is important, but preventing people from becoming victims is even more important. The more proactive we can be, the better.

Addressing domestic and sexual abuse is necessary. However, the political will required to institute such measures was sadly lacking for many years. We are fortunate that the government is taking these issues seriously and is working to address them.

Looking beyond the personal impact of such abuse, we should note that the repression of women in Kenya costs our economy up to Sh5 billion a year.

A shocking survey by audit firm KPMG showed that as of the end of last year, over 500,000 women had to take time off work or could not participate in the workforce at all due to domestic abuse issues.

This translates into families that become more reliant on state welfare, reduced income tax payments as well as harm to overall national economic output.

Although financial considerations are not the reason why domestic abuse needs to be addressed, the numbers show how abuse negatively affects us all.

We must take a cue from our leadership and work together to eradicate domestic violence from our nation. Our wounds can serve to be some of our strongest sources of growth.