PROVIDING SAFE SPACES FOR CHILDREN AND SURVIVORS OF SEXUAL GENDER BASED VIOLENCE IN SIAYA COUNTY.

Trigger Warning!!!!

This publication contains details from personal experiences of survivors of gender-based violence including sexual violence; sexual exploitation and abuse; sometimes in explicit terms. We respect the lived reality and words of survivors, so we have not censored any language. However, we recognize that certain terms may be distressing for some readers. If you need support, please contact the GBV toll-free hotline at 119. We have also not used real names to protect the identity of the children. 

Sexual Gender-based violence continues to be a growing concern in Kenya today, with females and children bearing the brunt of its effects. CMMB’s current program data depicts increasing Sexual and Gender Based Violence cases in Siaya county with 0-24 years affected at 92% of the reported cases, while 50% of these cases being sexual and gender-based violence.

In Gem sub county, the prevalence of child abuse and neglect is high with many cases going unreported due to lack of adequate resources and infrastructure to address the problem.

Further, most of the reported incidents of Child abuse and Gender Based Violence in Gem Sub County are being perpetrated by close relatives thus the need to provide survivors with a temporary safe space to prevent further violence and reduce the risk of further abuse.

With no Child protection Units or safe spaces for survivors of Gender Based Violence in Gem sub county, duty bearers, including police officers and Chiefs had to either take the survivors to sleep in their houses or let them sleep either in the corridors at the police stations or in the cells.

Children who experience abuse or neglect may suffer from physical and emotional harm, and the effects can last well into adulthood.

Such is the case of Nancy, a 14-year-old girl whose biological father continuously raped her and her 3 siblings, and Mercy, a 11-year-old girl, raped twice by her 78-year-old grandfather. Their experience shared in here highlight the plight of children survivors of gender-based violence and reflect what many abused children endure in Siaya County and in Kenya at large.

Nancy and her three brothers were raped by their biological father. With their mother being deceased, the one man that was supposed to be their care giver turned against them and consistently abused them.

“After my mother died, my father would come to my bed and have sex with me. He also touched my private parts. He would insert his penis into my kid brothers’ mouth when they were left alone in the house. I reported it to my uncle, but he did nothing about it. I reported it to my area chief, but he took no action against my father. I was rescued when I went to the hospital. Then to the police station to report the incident”, narrates a teary Nancy.

When Nancy and her brothers were rescued, they had to spend two nights at the police stations corridors because there was no safe space available for her and her brother to be taken in. CMMB found a children’s home two days later and had her and her youngest brother sent to the children’s home as the other two were sent to another children’s home. However, it was noticed that her father who is in police custody sent threats to her two brothers through a neighbor.

In yet another incident, Mercy’s dreams and innocence were shuttered when her 78-year-old grandfather defiled her. Having lost her father through death and with a mother who is partially disabled, Mercy ought to have been taken care of by her grandfather who unfortunately turned into a predator.

“On 20th October 2020, my grandfather called me to assist him with some household chores. When I went, he pinned me down and raped me. He then threatened me not to tell anyone about what he had done to me. The following day, he did the same. Call me. Pin me down and rape me. Fortunately, my cousin found him in the act. She reported the incident to my sister who later reported to the village elder and Community Health Volunteer. This led to my grandfather being arrested”, narrates Mercy.

Like Nancy and her three brothers, Mercy was also found in limbo after she was rescued. Having spent a long time at the police station, she could not go back home because it was late, and her aunties were unhappy with her reporting the incident.  It took over three hours that evening for the CMMB team to find a safe space for her that night.

From the two experiences shared, one common factor is that both survivors were defiled by people close to them. Also, with the absence of a shelter for survivors of Sexual Gender based violence, the survivors found themselves in limbo, with nowhere else to go.

It is for this reason that CMMB Kenya , through its Breaking the Silence project constructed a Child Protection Unit integrated with a Gender Desk office at Yala Police station in Siaya County, to safeguard the welfare of Children survivors of sexual gender-based violence and witnesses of child abuse.  The building is equipped with specialized facilities and resources to support the safety and management of child abuse cases, ensuring that the rights and wellbeing of children are protected.

cmmb is an international, faith-based NGO providing long-term, co-operative, medical and development aid to communities affected by poverty and unequal access to healthcare.

In Kenya, CMMB Kenya provides long term cooperative, medical and development aid to communities affected by poverty and unequal access to healthcare in 9 counties in Kenya, including Kitui, Kericho, Nandi, Machakos, Makueni, Nyamira, Siaya, Migori and Kisii counties, and administrative offices in Nairobi and Kisumu.

 We intervene in the areas of Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Cancer, Orphans and Vulnerable children, Livelihoods, Maternal and child health, HIV, GBV, Malaria, and Tuberculosis.

Written By: Marion Malika