Police officers in Homa Bay County have started a campaign against defilement and gender-based Violence (GBV) which is on the rise in the region in the wake of the corona pandemic.
Speaking Friday during the launch of a Child Protection Unit (CPU) at Homa Bay Police Station, Nyanza Regional Police Commander Noah Mwivanda expressed concern that Homa Bay County recorded the highest number of defilement and gender-based Violence GBV cases in Nyanza Region.
The Police boss described Homa Bay County as the epicenter of the vices and urged his officers to keenly follow on every reported case and ensure the abusers are brought to book.
Mwivadi further challenged the officers to find the root cause of defilement cases in the region and address it.
“We should never allow perpetrators of defilement cases to go unpunished by engaging in out of court settlements,” he stressed.
Mwivanda noted that there were some underlying causes of gender-based violence such as poverty, unemployment and retrogressive culture which must be addressed in order to safeguard the rights of women and children.
“We want to know, if it is unemployment which is making men to be idle and defile our girls,” he said.
The Commander who was accompanied by Homa Bay County Police Commander Esther Seronei said that they were working closely with other partners to reverse the negative indicators in the county in terms of children’s rights.
Mwivadi said the new CPU will provide shelter for those children whose rights have been violated until when their abusers are brought to book.
He also told his officers to be holding routine public barazas to educate members of the public on children rights and the dire consequences of violating them.
On her part Homa Bay Nominated Member of County Assembly Nerea Amondi said the establishment of the CPU was a move in the right direction noting that children will no longer be held in the same housing units with the adults.
By Davis Langat
