Due to insufficient legal protection, violence against women has increased alarmingly, says Programme Co-ordinator Ann Gathumbi of Coalition on Violence Against Women (COVAW). – Many of the victims remain with their families out of fear of what might happen to their children if the women leave their husbands, explains Gathumbi.  

On average, in Nairobi, each day sees seven severe attacks carried out by husbands on their wives. This represents a marked increase from only three years ago, adds Lawyer Ann Muthoni, also of COVAW, one of the seven organisations on the Interim Board for the establishment of a Human Rights House in Nairobi. -In 2001 and 2002, the average was five such attacks pr. day, exacted Muthoni to Inter Press Services (IPS). The findings of COVAW were published in the Norwegian daily ´Klassekampen´ on the 27th of September, and this article is an edited version of the one published there.

Increase
Even though COVAW has also registered an increase in the number of such cases brought to court, they were rarely lead to prosecution and sentencing of the accused. Furthermore, the relative impunity in this area is in itself a threat to women, since men who have been taken to court for suspected violent behaviour against women, tend to take revenge, witrh the support, as these men see it, of the verdict, by way of violating their women even further on their return home. Gathumbi and Mathoni add that COVAW has reason to believe that the situation is even worse in the rural areas. -In any case, the under-reporting of violence against women is enormous, both in urban and rural areas.

Structural upheavals
According to IPS, as reported in ´Klassekampen,´ the COVAW findings gain support from Joyce Majwa, the Leader of Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) – Kenya who believes that the reason for this sudden increase in violence against women in Nairobi is the rapid erosion of traditional social structures taking place, especially in big cities. In terms of violent crime rates, Nairobi is now the third worst city in Africa. Only Lagos and Johannesburg are worse. -Roles and tasks traditionally seen to belong to women are now ever more performed by men and vice versa. This generates a great deal of tension in people´s homes, which, in ever more casesm eventually lead to violence, explains Majwa.

Poverty
Every year, FIDA is in touch with some 5.000 women who have been subjected to mistreatment. With the opening of FIDA´s new crisis centre in Mombasa, this number is bound to rise, as it did when FIDA opened their first such regional crisis centre, in Kisumu, some years back. -Poverty and a lack of opportunities to break out and cope on their own, more often than not make women stay on with their violent husbands, where at least, they maintain some control over their children´s well-being, adds Majwa. 

Sexualised violence
A third human rights NGO, Medico-Legal Network on Gender-Based Violence in Kenya, stresses that more than 90 % of all violence in Kenya is directed against women. The law against such violence, however, only states a maximum, not a minimum punishment, elaborates the COVAW Lawyer Mary Njeri. Hence, it is up to each and every judge to decide for himself what the punishment, if any, ought to be. More often than not, the suspect is let off, and frequently at the immediate and serious expense of the victim. Statistics from Kenya Medical Association (KMA) shows that the number of reported rapes is also on the increase, on average from 1500 to 2000 in each provincial hospital of the country. Dr Odongo Odiyo emphasises that even though this is in itself an important step in the right direction, it is still the case that less than 30 % of all rape cases are being reported at all.

Slow justice
The women´s rights organisations jointly complain about the time it takes for Kenyan authorities to implement improved legislation in this area, especially since ready-made drafts were presented by COVAW and FIDA as far back as 2001. A draft law on domestic violence was presented to Parliament, also in 2001, but the same goes for this draft; it has yet to be implemented as a proper law, like Uganda did some time ago with a similar draft.