Wife battery high in Nyanza, Western

By GRACE WEKESA and JACKLINE INYANJI

 

Kakamega County: Majority of men in Western and Nyanza regions batter their women, a study by an NGO has revealed.

A recent survey on gender-based violence in the two regions revealed that 56 per cent of men had friends who abuse women.

Fredrick Nyagah, the national co-ordinator of MenEngage Kenya Network (Menken) said 21.4 per cent of men had battered women more than once while 24.2 had committed the offence once.

“This is the highest score in the last three years in the two regions. Women are either slapped or hit with an object. This was closely followed by pushing or shoving a partner, reported at 18 per cent,” Mr Nyagah revealed.

Nyagah observed that the most common type of violence outside the home setting, according to respondents, was getting punched – at 40.2 per cent – followed by threatening with a knife at 20.6 per cent.

Cultural beliefs

The report also showed that 70 per cent of respondents from Nyanza have physically or sexually abused their spouses. In Western the figure was 68 per cent.

In Nyanza, Nyakach has rampant cases of violence against women followed by Mumias in Western.

Speaking in Kakamega, Nyagah attributed strong cultural beliefs and consideration of kinship (cases of gender-based violence are referred to local elders and elderly family members since cultural punishment is more lenient) as the contributing factors to the high incidence of violence against women in the two regions.

“The main perpetrators of violence are men. Cultural beliefs in communities are still being observed and this continues to hinder the fight against women violence,” he stated.

The study further indicated that 48.5 per cent of married men do not use condoms while having an affair while 25.9 per cent of the men occasionally use them, leaving a minority of 13.4 per cent and 12.2 who use condoms always and mostly.

Dr John Paul Oyore, director, Promotive Health Consultant, observed that there is need to create awareness about the longstanding effects of gender-based violence.