Kenya loses Sh41 billion annually to GVB and femicide

 

Kenya loses Sh41 billion per year to gender-based violence (GBV) and femicide.

 

This is according to the technical working group on GBV, including femicide.

 

At a plenary meeting for the working group at KICC, Nairobi, the Technical Working Group on GBV and Femicide led by Nancy Baraza said GBV has a grave impact to the economy.

 

“Sh41 billion per annum is a lot of money” Baraza said, pointing out that because of this massive loss, there is need to treat or deal with GBV and femicide so as to redirect the resources and time to improving the economy.

 

She said that the working group, having been advised by members of the academia from select local universities, has provided very useful data that can be used to assess, review, and recommend measures to strengthen the policy, legal and institutional response to GBV and femicide in the country.

 

“We have also received submissions from various scholars including anthropologists and sociologists, gender mainstreaming experts and theologians from different local universities who have given us different perspectives on GBV, including femicide,” she said.

 

Baraza said Kenyatta University Women’s Economic Empowerment Hub (KU-WEE) confirmed that the country loses nothing less than Sh41 billion per annum because of GBV and femicide.

 

She said KU-WEE Hub is known for researching and putting in place mechanisms for women empowerment for them to move out from the abusive spaces where gender-based violence occurs.

The Chairperson further said there is a direct link between economic disempowerment of women and GBV. She noted that women who suffer gender-based violence mostly are the economically disempowered.

 

She noted the occurrences of GBV in local universities as something worrying and alarming.

 

She noted that ‘bus fare’ which was mentioned by young people could be a possible reason for the increasing cases of GBV and femicide.

 

“Young people who commented on it say this ‘bus fare’ thing is quite serious.  Apparently, it comes from the men and when certain conditions are not met, it sometimes leads to GBV including femicide,” she said.  

 

Baraza said studies reveal that one of the issues afflicting young people is that they fear to report incidents of GBV.

 

“They don't even want to tell their parents. The next thing you hear is worse. It has now graduated from being a GBV case to a femicide case,” she said, adding that the fight against GBV and femicide is a holistic thing that requires the approach of everyone.

 

She noted that the government needs to empower police officers,  chiefs, and other relevant authorities for them to be trained on how to receive cases of GBV so that they do not stigmatize the victims.