Have we uncovered all storms on gender Violence? AYT takes center stage advocating for against GBV
“When we talk as ONE, violence against women comes out from behind closed doors. Violence against women and girls in most societies goes unrecognized and unreported because we are afraid to communicate about it. Violence against women is a public issue and it is a public concern that affects all segments of society,” Agnes M Fallah Kamara quotes.
Can you imagine of a mother burning her daughters because of Kshs 40 taken without her permission? A story of two young girls who are nursing burns caused by their biological mother, blew our mind. A tear drop story received by AYT’s Access to Justice Gender team and someone would wonder, does it qualify to be a gender based violence because its done by a fellow woman? If you are asking yourself this question, then where do we place women who perform Female Genital Mutilation(FGM) against young girls? I guess now we are on the same page. In a synopsis, violence against women is qualified from the lens of unqual power from the perpetrators.
Such is just one of the many related stories that we receive which quite a number think do not qualify as a gender violence case. And we can all attest that silent stories within our households will sound unique with different struggles potraying different aspects and speculations of what is gender violence.
European Commission defines GBV as violence against a person because of their gender(including gender identity/expression) or as violence that affects persons of a particular gender disproportionately. It singles out that women and girls of all ages and backgrounds are most affected.
Due to the fact that often the acts are normalized, some do not consider themselves victims and they fail to create awareness hence spread it as a norm. There are a number of myths and stereotypes that define how society perceives and responds to GBV. A good number is attached to traditional positioning of women and that of a girl child.
Some of the myths that have since lived with GBV are that.
- women allow intimate partner violence due to children. They have no option but to stay and keep the family hence if they wanted to, they can leave an abusive marriage
- There is no relationship that doesnt face conflict situations. Conflicts are part and parcel of everyday life, and so its normal.
- That if the husband drinks, then that is the cause of his actions, otherwise he isn’t that way under normal circumstances. The assumption here is abuse of substance is the root cause of violence.
- Domostic violence is a private family matter that shouldn’t invite outsiders to intervene. Especially in Africa, this is mostly why some neigbours could play witness to a husband treating his wife badly and they cannot intervene.
- A parent who treats his or her girlchild differently compaired to the boychild is a choice of how a parent choose to treat his or her children and that it is non of other people’s business that even the state shouldn’t intervene.
These and other untold stories form a great number of myths and stereotypes that define the existence of GBV amongst our societies.
When AYT received the distress information on the two girls who were rescued by the neighbours its took its manadate to ensure that the children have access to medical attention as well as legal aid in an effort to curb such from happening. “We received information from Mukuru Kwa Njenga slums Nairobi of a mother who burnt her two young girls as purnishment for taking Kshs 40 without her permission. The two girls had been rescued by the neighbours when we got there. One of the girls is in class 8 and another is in class 7. Due to their age, we cannot disclose their identity,” narrated Winfred Okumu, Gender officer at AYT.
As the Trust carries out intiatives to reduce such and the prevalences of sexual and gender based violence in Kenya, its partnering with policy makers and government officials to ensure justice is served, accord social support and also put a stop from such abuses.
AYT is working hand in hand with the community to create awareness, create sanity and sensintise the community on women’s rights and girls and guide them through the legal procedures that one needs to take in case of GBV.
‘Despite the efforts that have been placed so far advocating against GBV some community members are not aware. Some think that if a man beats you, its a sign of love,’ said Winfred.
Currently, AYT is implementing access to Justice in Mukuru Kwa Njenga, Nairobi and the Trust is currently putting up initiatives to popularize the initiative countrywide with the objective of completely returning sanity in our societies.
We invite you to visit our website and social media often and see how you can make a difference by advocating against GBV