Counties in northern Kenya lack a centralised database on gender-based violence (GBV) despite having widespread cases, stakeholders have revealed.
Visiting stakeholders who met with their counterparts from Isiolo County to mark 16 days of activism against GBV in Isiolo town, noted that the vast and remote region, whose inhabitants still practice age-old traditions like female genital mutilation (FGM), lacks a centralised data collection base, while coordination among parties was also challenging.
The State's National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC) and leading NGOs officials who joined local Civil Society Organisations and Community Based Organisations members concurred that there was need for them to coordinate their activities and channel incidents of various types of gender violence from grassroots up to the county headquarters level.
Apart from FGM, spouse battering, mostly of women, defilement of girls and worryingly digital abuses targeting the few literate girls and women are among the widespread cases of GBV in the region, with traditions being the major hurdle faced by activists fighting the vices.
Nahashon Letaruk, the regional director of NGEC for Upper Eastern, said that while many CSOs and CBOs are working among their communities at village level, data collected hardly goes beyond their localities, adding that with better coordination, such vital information could have been shared and stored in a central place for reference and action by State and non-State actors.
"Incidents (of GBV) are many, but how many are recorded and shared remains a big challenge. However, with closer collaboration with our partners and local communities, the county governments would be in a position to collect information that includes GBV incidences in their health records system," said Mr Letaruk.
Solutions for Supporting Healthy Adolescents and Rights Protection (Sharp) project and Plan International are among the organisers of the event observed globally for a period of 16 days that started on Tuesday.
Sharp project is a four-year initiative funded by EU and focuses on improving adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights (ASRHR) and addressing family planning needs in the Great Lakes Regions, including Kenya.
In the Country, Sharp project partners with some NGOs in Isiolo, Marsabit and Mandera there they carry out activities targeting teenagers sexual and reproductive health rights, among others.
It works with unique groups like adolescents, gender and faith experts to advocate for policy changes and improve access to services, particularly for girls.
Sharp project official in the region Dorothy Okemo noted that online digital bullying targeting gender, especially female was on a sharp rise in northern Kenya, with major aim of the bullies being 'silencing' the voice of the few literate womenfolk.
Okemo said the organisation will work with women-led NGOs in the region on sensitisation of the communities on GBV, and engage with policy makers at both County and National governments to counter the vices.
Over the 16 days of activism, the local stakeholders will use various forums including vernacular radio stations to sentisise the communities.
"We will also take advantage of other upcoming events like the World Aids Day (December 1) and International Day on Disability (December 3), where we will use the same stage to speak to the public on Gender Based Violence," said the official from NGEC.
