Sita Kimya! Break the silence and end the violence!

MICHAEL RANNEBERGER

Violence against women touches every nation. Gender-based violence (GBV) is a global pandemic that cuts across all borders — ethnic, racial, class, religious, and educational level.

Women face differing forms of GBV throughout their lives — from inadequate access to education, nutrition, and healthcare, to forced and child marriage, female genital mutilation, sex trafficking, to domestic violence or "wife battering," incest or defilement, and rape. They also have to deal with the neglect and abuse that accompanies widows.

According to the recent Kenya Demographic and Health Survey almost half of Kenyan women have experienced either physical or sexual violence.

On November 25, we once again took up the "16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence". It is an important series of days that commences with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and ends on December 10 with International Human Rights Day. During these 16 days, the world must offer up more than words to answer the call to free women from violence.

We must stand up to the impunity that too often leaves the most egregious perpetrators unaccountable for their crimes. We must redress the poor status of women and girls around the world, which renders them undervalued and vulnerable. We must do more to include men and boys in addressing and preventing violence and changing gender attitudes. We must acknowledge, too, that males can also be victimised because of their gender. For example, young boys are kidnapped and converted to child soldiers in some countries and, even in Kenya, boys are subjected to violence in some communities.

These 16 Days are a sobering reminder that GBV has profound socio-economic consequences for all society. It not only undermines the possibility of gender equality, it negatively affects women’s healthcare, education, and political and economic participation.

Put simply, GBV is bad for business. Violence in women’s lives not only has long-standing physical and psychological effects for the survivors, it can also undermine national development. It handicaps women’s ability to participate in socio-economic life of their communities.

Women, children, families, communities, and nations are hurt simply because women are prevented from working or working effectively due to GBV. It shrinks family incomes, slows development, and hinders national growth.

Kenya suffers as a nation when half of its population is held down. Every day there are women who are unable to participate in growth because of violence.

The violent targeting of women is also used as a tactic of war to terrorise populations into submission. We witnessed this during the post-election violence in Kenya where women and children bore the brunt of the violence in their homes while fleeing violence-prone areas and after seeking refuge in camps. We must not forget these women who have yet to see justice meted out to their violators.

This year, the 16 Days come on the heels of the 10th anniversary of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.

Historic resolution

The international community has a unique opportunity to bolster efforts to treat women not merely as victims of violence, but rather as agents of peace and reconciliation.

The US is taking a lead role in reaffirming the goals set forth in this historic resolution. But more than that, we are recommending specific actions countries can take to ensure women are at the table during peace negotiations.

The only way to achieve our goals — to reduce the number of conflicts around the world, to eliminate rape as a weapon of war, combat the culture of impunity for sexual violence, and build sustainable peace — is to draw on the full contributions of both women and men in every aspect of peacemaking, peacekeeping, and peace building.

The US is also working to define gender-based violence, not as solely a woman’s issue, but one of international human rights and security. We are taking action on the ground; training peacekeepers on GBV awareness and prevention, working with NGOs to ensure men’s engagement in preventing GBV, and partnering with religious leaders to incorporate these messages into their outreach.

Studies show that women who control their own resources are less vulnerable to being victimised because of their gender, which is why economic empowerment of women is an integral part of our strategy.

These 16 Days offer an opportunity to renew our commitment to freeing women from the nightmare of violence, whether it occurs in the home behind closed doors or in open fields of armed conflict.

Countries cannot progress when half their populations are marginalised, mistreated, or subjected to discrimination. When women are accorded their rights and afforded equal opportunities in education, healthcare, employment, and political participation, they lift up their families, communities, and their nations.

Writer is the US Ambassador to Kenya.