This year’s theme ‘the UNiTE campaign’ emphasizes the need for sustainable financing, for efforts to end violence against women and girls towards the fulfilment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
On 28 November 2016, the Nairobi City County, Aids Healthcare Foundation, in collaboration with civil society organizations and with legal support from KELIN held a silent protest march geared towards raising awareness on Gender Based Violence (GBV). The march was flagged off by Ms. Esther Passaris, a political aspirant for the Nairobi Gubernatorial seat, at Uhuru Park’s Freedom Corner and ended at Jevanjee Gardens where the joint team conducted a rally, voluntary HIV testing and provision of legal aid by KELIN. The march, which was also graced by the Police Surgeon, Dr Kizzie Shako, hoped to promote more debate on Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) by creating avenues where sexual assault survivors can seek assistance, medication and legal advice.
This protest is justified by the recent statistics on SGBV where alarmingly, the Kenya Demographic Health Survey 2014 reported that 47 percent of women have gone through either physical or sexual based violence. Similarly, the LVCT Health report cites 5,143 cases of GBV from 131 sites across the country. Out of these, the most affected are girls aged between 12-17 representing 41 percent of survivors followed by women aged 18-49 who make up 32 percent. The above statistics are despite Kenya’s tremendous progress in enacting laws and policies that seek to protect and end sexual gender based violence. KELIN hopes that the free legal advice given during the rally will be useful in assisting the victims and families of those affected by Sexual Gender Based Violence.
For more information, contact:
Tabitha Saoyo
Program Manager, HIV & TV
Kenya Legal and Ethical Issues Network on HIV/AIDS (KELIN)
4th Floor, Somak Building, Mombasa Road
Tel +254 202 515 790; Mobile +254 710 261 408 / +254 788 220300
Email: tsaoyo@kelinkenya.org
