NYERI, Kenya, Apr, 29 – After the COVID-19 pandemic struck Kenya and led to a disruption of movement and access to certain freedoms, the threat of gender-based violence became a reality for thousands of victims.
A Report dubbed “I Had Nowhere To Go: Violence Against Women and Girls during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Kenya”, conducted by Human Rights Watch and released in September 2021, revealed mind-boggling statistics from the national gender-based violence hotline 1195 run by Healthcare Assistance Kenya—an NGO that works with survivors of GBV in Kenya—in partnership with the Ministry of Public Service and Gender.
According to the report, there was a staggering 301 percent increase in calls reporting violence against women and girls in the first two weeks of the lockdown between March and April 2020.
The report further noted that one of the challenges for many victims was having no place to go due to the lack of shelter and safe houses to escape the violence.
“The 2015 Protection Against Domestic Violence Act does not require the national government to provide temporary emergency shelters for domestic violence survivors. Instead, government policy is to place responsibility on county authorities for establishing, strengthening, and ensuring the sustainability of safe spaces,” reads the report.
To understand the situation better, Shahidi News reached out to one such ‘safe house’ to find out what it takes to set up a GBV Shelter, the challenges, and what can be done to increase the number of such spaces for victims of GBV in Kenya.
The Rescue Centre for children located in Nyeri town is the first of its kind in the Constituency. The founder of this facility Ann Wambui popularly known as “Wa Ciana” for her love of children set up the centre on December 24, 2018.
Wambui, who was a banker, abandoned her career after she realized there was no safe space for children who had survived GBV in their homes.
A tragic personal experience led her to a ‘Damascus moment’, when a young girl aged 13, approached her for help after she had been abused.
“A daughter of my friend came to me and handed me a note, telling me that she was being abused and needed help. I was not sure of how to help her. You see, I could not take her away from her parents,” Wambui recalled.
As she tried to come up with a solution, and a way to intervene, she received some troubling news; “The girl committed suicide before I could help her and I was devastated by the fact I had no answers for her. With this, I choose to act and find a way to help these children.”
Gutted but determined to play a role, Wambui approached two of her close friends; Reverend Elah Musasia and Margaret Mugo, and asked them if they could help her find a place she could shelter children affected by GBV.
“I could not afford to purchase land or build a home. So I rented a two-bedroom house and started to carry out empowerment seminars for the children in the area,” she said.
At this point, she quit her job and dedicated her energies to helping any child in need of shelter.
“It was not easy at first because the law is very clear on the rights of children. You see, they belong to their parents and in cases of neglect or defilement, the custody of the child can only be transferred by the state through the Children’s department,” she pointed out.
As a result, she had to create a rapport with authorities and came up with an arrangement with the Children’s department on how to set up a safe house. She offered her home as a rescue centre for the children.
Wambui also keeps close ties with Nyumba Kumi, local chiefs, police, and various organizations such as education offices to ensure they are aware there is a safe place for children.
There are very few government-run shelters, and most are run by NGOs or privately owned and concentrated in urban areas.
This is the case in Nyeri County where children who are at risk of abuse are rescued by the Children’s department are instead taken to the Nyeri Ruringu Remand home.
The facility is specifically for children seeking shelter from GBV or neglected. But taking them to the remand home has instead traumatized them and led to stigma.
According to the HRW report, 56 Shelters and safe houses that are available, are severely under-resourced including understaffed, and can lack food, have limited beds available, and insufficient space to quarantine new arrivals.
A situation that Wambui has had to contend with since she opened her doors to the children in her shelter.
Each month she pays rent for the shelter and pays for a matron, cook, and security guard. She is still trying to equip the home, which needs beds, and a child-friendly play area.
“I rely on well-wishers to keep the home going. I have currently rescued at least 24 children over the last three years,” she said.
She receives sanitary towels for the girls from the county government and occasionally food donations and counselors from the Empowerment centre.
“I support my children to offer them the best life away from home, as I can afford, I sell branded handkerchiefs at Sh100 that creates awareness and further support my efforts to buy what the shelter needs,” she said.
Currently, the Rescue Centre has 14 children who are aged between 3 and 15 years of age.
Based on her experience, what is needed is government support to set up more facilities to cater to GBV victims’ shelters.
Her point is belied by the HRW report that stated “In the absence of adequate numbers of accessible, quality government shelter beds, it is important the government increases support to NGOs and community members who are caring for survivors of GBV, including covering the financial costs they incur.”
What is the government doing?
The Ministry of Public Service and Gender has since dismissed the HRW report saying; “It is with concern, therefore, that we note that the HRW report has created a false perception that stands a real risk of causing unnecessary anxiety to the already burdened victims of SGBV in Kenya and who may find it difficult to seek the support needed and which is available to them.”
“We wish to assure all women and girls, and our partners that we will build on our collective gains on eliminating GBV, explore innovative strategies and deliver concrete steps for women and girls, to realise the goals under the SDGs transformative Agenda.”
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