By Dickens Wasonga.

Nyanza province is still leading in the country over matters relating to gender based violence. According to studies carried out in the recent past by civil society groups working to stop violence against women in the province, the region came first as the worst hit on such issues.

According to the deputy executive director of Kenya Female Advisory Organization [KEFEADO], Ms Easter Achien’g, Nyanza continues to record worrying trends of violence meted against women which in most cases have led to the death of the victims.

Speaking to the press in her Kisumu office yesterday the director said her organization which spearheads gender activism for prevention of violence against women has now embarked on aggressive awareness creation and social education campaigns that will boost the capacity of women to report such cases when it happens and ensure justice is delivered.

Easter Achieng, the deputy director flanked by Hellen Otieno of Gender Development project during the press briefing.

The director at the same time chided a move by the Kenyan police to create reporting desks manned by female police officers arguing that the move was cosmetic and has failed to encourage women violated to report such incidents because harassment is still practiced.

”Most women who report cases of violence which includes rape are treated rudely and humiliated at the police stations and having desks manned by police women does not help much. We need to see the police getting fully interested in prosecuting the culprits.” She said.

Ms Achien’g disclosed that in just one month, over four cases of violence relating to gender were reported in Kisumu’s Nyalenda slums where victims were murdered in cold blood.

In one of the cases a man reportedly killed his wife and proceeded to hack to death their three children in what the police in the area described as a worrying trend now taking root in most sprawling slums of the lake side city.

The activist said it was sad that up to 90 per cent of such cases go unreported because the society’s socio-cultural beliefs view wife beating and battering as normal practices.They only realize it was wrong when the victims are killed.

”We live in a society where the community still believe wife beating is normal. Most of our women also were brought up to be submissive to an extent that even when they are abused, they do not wish to reported the abusers to the authorities. This is wrong and we have began educating them to realize they have rights which nobody should violate including their spouse” said Achien’g.

During the post election violence which rocked the East African nation in 2008 after the general elections
whose results,several women were killed,scores raped by different gangs and a brutal force who took advantage of the skirmishes to mete out violence against the weaker sex.

Many of the cases were reported to the police but non has been prosecuted, at least in Kisumu, which was amongst the worst hit spots by the skirmishes.

Towards elimination of further violation of the women rights,her organization together with other partners has launched a 16 days of gender activism to stop violence against women in the province dubbed ”WE CAN CAMPAIGN”.

According to the crusader, the ‘We can campaign’ which for their group stands for ”We Can End All Forms of Violence Against Women” is a campaign which is meant to help individual men and women to carry out self analysis,reflect and discard attitudes which promote violence against women with a view of making the other members of the society aware of the short term and long term impacts of such acts of violence on those on the receiving end.

She said the campaign and the 16 days of gender activism is a very important period for ending all forms of violence against women and is piloted in five re4gions in the country namely Nairobi,Rift Valley, Central,Western and Nyanza with KEFEADO being the focal point in the region.

In the worst hit Nyanza, KEFEADO has undertaken activities as from last week and will hold a learning platform for 60 different partners representing different regions in Kenya on December 9th at the Kisumu Museum grounds.

She asked members of parliament to allocate money from the devolved funds to help build safe centers which will accommodate victims of gender based violence in all the major urban centers in the country.

ENDS.