Next president should help end violence against women, girls

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As the election season heats up, the deep-seated and ever-present apprehension related to violence against women and girls has once again reared its ugly head. This has been a concern in every election, and will continue to be so unless urgent and long-lasting interventions are sought.

Every election year, various stakeholders and agencies have chronicled incidents where female candidates have either been sexually, physically or verbally assaulted by male rivals and/or their agents. Following Kenya’s disputed elections of 2007 and 2008, officials estimated that at least 900 cases of sexual violence occurred, with women being targeted on the basis of ethnicity.