A facilitator engaging with members during GSWG meeting in Homabay County.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) No. 5 focuses on achieving equality and empowering women and girls. Gender equality involves, among other things, prevention, and response to Sexual Gender-Based-Violence, while also addressing issues affecting women and girls’ more broadly including eliminating all forms of discrimination.
KELIN advocates and promotes gender equality by organizing technical forums through the Gender Sector Working Groups (GSWG) to amplify women and girls’ voices in decision making platforms, and finding solutions to the varied challenges thatimpact their lives. The GSWG pperiodic meetings provide open platforms for stakeholders to participate regularly in discussions around gender issues.
On 20th June 2024, KELIN convened a one-day Gender Sector Working Group (GSWG) meeting in Homabay County. The forum focusedon SGBV prevention and response, as it is a big problem in the region. According to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022, gender-based-violence(GBV) cases are still on the rise in the county. A total of 30 stakeholders from both state and non-state actors attended the GSWG meeting to collaboratively track and strategize on the implementation of the Homabay County SGBV policy as well as hold duty bearers accountable on their commitments to address the vice.
In her remarks, the Director of Gender, County government, Mrs. Everlyn Ododa stated, “Today’s meeting marks a defining moment in terms of advancing gender equality in Homabay County as the county government seeks to develop gender equality monitoring tool – one of its kind – that will be a yardstick in ensuring that we are on the right course.”
KELIN is cognizant that SGBV is a key issue that not only affects women and girls in the Homabay region alone, but also women and girls across the nation, making GBV intervention a significant development priority need for Kenya. If tackled, this can greatly address power imbalances and advance gender equality. Edwine Nyanja, Program officer at KELIN reiterated the organization’s commitment to ensuring the application of the five gender pillars, i.e. male involvement, women in leadership, GBV, Gender mainstreaming, and women economic empowerment, as building blocks to the realization of SDG Goal no. 5.
To contribute to the discussions on this forum, follow KELIN on our social media platform via @KELINKenya.
For more information please contact,
Edwine Nyanja,
Program Officer- SRHR,
Kenya Legal & Ethical Issues Network on HIV/AIDS (KELIN),
Email: edwinenyanja@kelinkenya.org
A facilitator engaging with members during GSWG meeting in Homabay County.
