BY Robert Githu (KNA)
Persons with Disabilities (PWD) from Baragoi, Samburu north Sub County have benefited from sensitization workshops on the reporting procedures against Gender-Based Violence (GBV).
The participants who were drawn from different parts of Samburu North have been sensitized on ending GBV which includes child marriage, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and teenage pregnancies courtesy of the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) prevention and awareness campaigns.
Speaking in Baragoi town during a PWD sensitization workshop, KRCS Samburu branch coordinator Ms. Lydia Maina noted that GBV cases in Samburu North were very high and PWDs are vulnerable to abuse hence it’s important that they are sensitized on the legal reporting process.
“In order to reduce cases of GBV in Samburu North, KRCS has commenced training of PWDs, women and men including duty bearers on the legal referral pathways so that GBV cases can be successfully prosecuted,” she said.
Ms. Maina added that KRCS has a pool of volunteers and community health promoters who work well with the community to create awareness and change.
“This is part of a four-year programme in Samburu county sponsored by MFA-Finland aimed at reducing GBV and harmful practices by the year 2026 and it complements the Finland-Kenya Bilateral Program on strengthening prevention and response to GBV,” she said.
The coordinator further noted that some forms of GBV in Samburu county such as FGM and child marriage are deeply entrenched in culture and calls for societal behavioral change.
“To eradicate these vices, there is need to impart behavioral change by constantly creating awareness against these forms of GBV in the society including intergenerational community dialogues which needs a lot of patience, advocacy and dialogue.” She said.
During a sensitization session of women and men at Baawa village, it emerged that the community prefers to solve defilement cases through kangaroo courts headed by Samburu elders rather that reporting to the authorities.
The participants further revealed that women first report teenage pregnancy cases to teachers after which the pregnancy is kept a secret and after the child is born, elders form a kangaroo court and fine the man responsible for the pregnancy a small fee of around Sh120,000 for the child’s upkeep.
“Around here, women have no power and the law belongs to the men we don’t know where to report cases since police stations are very far,” said Florence Nasieku.
Margaret Nawar from the Maralal law courts advised the community members to report GBV cases to chiefs or nyumba kumi members in areas where there are no police stations.
She further sensitized the participants on forensic preservation of clothes and the body in cases of rape or defilement to aid successful prosecution of Sexual Gender Based Violence in Samburu North.
Maralal based High court advocate Dominic Mbugua sensitized the participants on the laws that protected them from GBV such as the Protection against Domestic Violence Act, the Penal Code Act, the Children’s Act and the Constitution of Kenya.
The PWD participants were also trained on entrepreneurship and business skills and urged to form groups in order to access funding from the department of trade from the county government.
The participants welcomed the sensitization forums and agreed to be anti GBV ambassadors in their respective villages.
During the two-day training, the KRCS team was accompanied by Anu Anu-Rantala from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland and Georgina Gichohi from the Finland Embassy.