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Kenya and Finland have launched a bilateral gender-based violence (GBV) programme to strengthen prevention and response to GBV in the country.
The three-year initiative will see Finland and Kenya inject €5 million and €1 million respectively, to finance the project to be implemented in Bungoma, Kilifi, and Samburu counties.
The programme, which was officially launched at the Kenya School of Government on Wednesday, will complement and strengthen the duty-bearers’ capacity to provide GBV first-response services and accountability.
Among key interventions of the plan will be to support the government in conducting a functional review of GBV service delivery, and use the findings to develop and implement a coordinated capacity development plan.
It will also assist in the conduct case management data reviews and provide targeted technical assistance to ensure rights holders’ access services they need along the referral pathway.
In addition, the project will support safety audits, community consultations and mapping to conduct a rights-based analysis to systematically assess and address gender equality and non-discrimination.
Gender Cabinet Secretary Prof Margret Kobia, who officially launched the initiative, said it marks a key moment of convergence of the two countries’ shared vision of eliminating GBV, working toward a violence-free society and one that recognises the equal value of women, men, girls and boys.
The CS observed that the programme falls within Kenya’s commitment to accelerate efforts towards the prevention of, and response to GBV including the elimination FGM among other harmful practices.
“The focus of the bilateral programme is also within the context of other important initiatives that we are undertaking towards the advancement of gender equality and empowerment of women and girls; including commitments made at the International Conference on Population and Development, Generation Equality Forum and the Multi- Agency Programme on Gender Based Violence,” said Prof Kobia..
Foreign policy
She noted that some unique elements of the plan are designed to help the parties recognise what is working, what should be taken to scale, while also seeking new innovations to catalyse the leadership, partnerships and commitments at national and county-levels.
Finland Ambassador to Kenya Pirkka Tapiola said promoting gender equality and the rights of women and girls, are key goals in his country’s foreign policy.
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Mr Tapiola said the partnership will contribute to a systemic development of the GBV prevention and response at the national level and in the three pilot counties, which all have unique characteristics to the GBV challenge.
He commended the Kenyan government for showing commitment to eliminate Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and GBV.
“During the Generation Equality Forum held in Paris, France in June this year, Kenya published a roadmap for advancing gender equality and ending all forms of GBV and FGM by 2026. The roadmap contains clear actions to accelerate the implementation and funding of prevention strategies and response services. This joint programme will contribute to the efforts of materializing the commitments of this roadmap,” he said.
Sexual Offences Act
The three pilot counties were picked due to challenges of poverty and marginalisation, their unique cultural norms and political goodwill.
Kenya has so far, developed policies and laws to curb GBV, which include the National Policy on Gender and Development, the National Policy on the Eradication of FGM, The National Policy on Prevention of and Response to GBV, the Protection against Domestic Violence Act and the Sexual Offences Act.
Covid-19 created a shadow pandemic of GBV witnessed in many countries, including Kenya. The reported cases to the national GBV helpline “HAK1195” increased by 360 per cent in 2020, compared to the previous year.
Report by the National Crime and Research Centre also showed that GBV increased by 92 per cent since the onset of Covid-19.
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