The Chief Justice Martha Koome has expressed Judiciary’s commitment towards facilitating protection of the rights of Gender Based Violence victims.
In a statement read on her behalf by Busia Presiding Judge Justice William Musyoka at Busia Polytechnic grounds on Friday, Koome said that the Judiciary recently established a special model court built in the children’s court to deal with Gender Based Violence designated as the Sexual and Gender Based Violence Court.
“It has been launched at Shanzu, Kisumu, Kibera, Makadara and Siaya,” she said, adding that there were plans to launch more stations in other areas including Busia.
She explained that the move is aimed at adapting a victim based approach to fast track gender violence cases.
The CJ further said that a convicted sexual offender’s electronic register has also been set up for preservation of data of perpetrators for ease of accessibility.
“As Judiciary, we associate with the theme of this campaign, that is unite, invest to prevent violence against women and girls,” the CJ said.
Koome pointed out that patriarchy which is the foundation for Gender Based Violence could only be uprooted through continuous awareness creation and public sensitization.
“Gender Based Violence is a form of resistance to the promotion of Gender Equality and the campaign to end Gender Based discrimination and it must be resisted and fought by all the available tools,” she said.
Koome at the same time said the Judiciary shall continue to focus policy making and programming to towards transformative action geared at ending all forms of Gender Based Violence against women and girls by working in collaboration with other stakeholders.
The Cabinet Secretary for Gender, Culture, the Art and Heritage Aisha Jumwa reiterated the government’s commitment in fighting GBV through initiatives like global commitments made through the Gender Equality Forum and the 9 point agenda for women in the Bottom up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).
In a speech reads on her behalf by the Principal Secretary in the State Department of Gender, Anne Wangombe, Jumwa added that the government has also strengthened accountability through implementation of GBV policies and laws, increased financing and budgetary allocation for GBV programming.
“Some of the milestones include protection Against Domestic Violence Act which was launched in September this year that has expressed the Government’s commitment to end all sorts of Gender Based Violence with the aim of creating a just and conducive society,” Jumwa said.
She noted that said that Busia has made progress through the establishment of Gender Based Recovery Centre in their health facilities.
“This has been made possible through consultative efforts that ensure that both quality and standards are upheld in both their establishment and functioning,’”she said.
The CS urged county governments to identify and invest in county-specific priorities and programmes that speak to the needs and concerns of the ordinary people towards the prevention of and response to GBV.
Jumwa at the same time urged the local leaders to sensitize the citizens on the need to resolve their differences through nonviolent means.
The Director of Rural Education and Empowerment Programme Mary Makokha stated that Busia County has many GBV cases which hardly reached the courts of law.
Makokha urged the County government to consider empowering GBV victims who come from poor families so that they could engage in economic activities.
“A number of women have been maimed and they will continue to suffer in the hands of their perpetrators if they are not supported economically,” she said.
She advised the local residents against negotiating about cases of Sexual Gender Based Violence out of the courts of law.
“Let us try to prevent activities like disco matanga, irresponsible parenting and others that expose people to SGBV,” she said adding that there is also a need to support the victims of SGBV before the perpetrators are arrested.
The Director at the same time said there is a need to establish a rescue centre in the County so that it could shelter the victims.
“We have a number of girls who have been impregnated through incest and they continue staying with the perpetrators,” she said adding that this denies the victims’ access to justice.
Makokha appealed to Busia Women Representative Catherine Omanyo to establish a rescue centre in Busia because some of the victims were forced to stay with the Civil Society Organizations leaders.
The forum brought together a team from the Ministry of Gender from Nairobi, local Civil Society Organizations, survivors of Gender Based Violence, Religious leaders, teachers’ union officials and officers from both County and National government
By Salome Alwanda
