The State Department for Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) is developing a policy to prevent Gender Based Violence (GBV) in its institutions Countrywide.
TVET Principal Secretary Dr. Esther Muoria said she had established a committee to come up with the policy that once complete will guide both staff and students in TVET institutions.
In a speech read on her behalf by Perpetual Njeru during a ceremony to mark the end of16 days of activism against GBV at St. Peters Primary School Ishiara, the PS said her department was determined to make TVET institutions safe spaces for acquiring of skills.
Dr. Muoria also said they are planning changes in TVET training that will see students have only half their training in school and the remaining half in industry so as to produce hands-on graduates that can easily fit into industry.
The County Executive for Early Childhood Development, Jane Karimi said society needs to work towards eliminating gender-based violence, which she said not only affects the health of concerned people, but also leaves children with life-long trauma.
She said economic issues, a changing social order brought about by gender activism as well as alcohol and substance abuse were at the center of gender based violence in the county and said both men and women should be socialized to know how to handle conflict before it explodes in violence.
The PS said it was alarming and sad to note that Embu county was ranked fourth in the prevalence of gender based violence with insults, physical fights, FGM, assault with weapons and sexual assaults being the most common, adding that there was need for a comprehensive plan to reverse the trend.
Scholar Dr. Fridah Karani urged men to speak out when they feel oppressed saying that the fear of stigma made most suffering men bottle up, only to explode in violence or end up committing suicide.
She noted that available data indicates that seven out of ten suicide cases reported in the county are men and said young men should be counselled to seek help when in difficult circumstances.
“It is time to shift from when we used to tell young men to be brave. Let’s tell them that it is okay to cry and to seek help from an older person when they find themselves in difficulties,” Dr. Karani said.
She added that older men in society should not abandon the young to their own devices, saying it was time society resets older people as community counsellors.
A local NGO, Kuza Mama Africa, spearheaded the 16-day activism with the coordinator Anne Muthoni Kirimi saying they achieved their goal of reaching out to 20000 women, 1000 in each ward, where they sensitized them on how to avoid GBV and what to do in the event of violence.
By Steve Gatheru
