By Martin Mutua
Amnesty International (AI) has written to the UN expressing concern over Government’s reluctance to act on rampant violence against women living in slums and informal settlements.
In the letter to the UN Committee on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, AI says women in slums are violated when seeking sanitation facilities.
AI said the Government must take steps to urgently ensure improved access to essential public services such as sanitation.
The organisation also wants the Government to invite the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women to visit and investigate causes and consequences of crimes against slum women.
According to AI, women and girls in the slums live under constant threat of sexual violence, which has made them too scared to leave their houses to use latrines even during the day.
Last year, AI released a report indicating that majority of Nairobi’s residents live in informal settlements and slums with latrines that are far and involve walking long distances.
The report, which was released in Nairobi dubbed Insecurity and Indignity: Women’s experience in the Slums of Nairobi, noted that only 24 per cent of residents in Nairobi’s informal settlements have access to toilets and latrines at household level.
raped and assaulted
Women interviewed complained of being raped and assaulted when using the toilets at night by people they knew very well but could not report for fear of attack.
AI indicated to the UN that inadequate access to sanitation in slums and informal settlements prevails despite existing Kenyan law and standards, and the Government’s ongoing slum-upgrading programme.
