The family should take up its role and halt gender violence

Kenya’s technical working group revealed systemic failures in the fight against femicide. [File, Standard]

The Nancy Baraza-led Presidential Technical Working Group on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) including Femicide released its report this week. Though the report largely restates revelations already in the public domain, it nevertheless gives the country another opportunity for reflection.

In a country that constitutionally and socially flouts itself as family-centred, one of the report’s distressing aspects is the extent of intimate partner violence in the country. The report indicates that Kenya replicates global statistics on intimate partner violence. A 2021 WHO report indicates that globally, one in three women have been victims of violence, mostly emanating from their intimate partners.