Activities Support Gender-Based Violence Prevention
16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is an annual international campaign that calls for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls. Activities throughout the AMPATH partnership support the campaign goals.
USAID Dumisha Afya joined other stakeholders to mark the beginning of 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign in Bungoma County. County Deputy Governor Janepher Mbatiany flagged off a procession of parents, gender-based violence survivors and boda bodas at her office grounds. Chanting and displaying materials against the vice, they proceeded to a venue nearly a kilometer away. Ms. Mbatiany called for increased engagement in fighting gender-based violence and urged parents to step-up efforts in supporting their children during the holiday season.
USAID Dumisha Afya program is supporting the fight against GBV through training of healthcare workers on managing GBV cases; supporting facilities in the county with relevant equipment and tools to deal with cases; and awareness creation. It has also hired focal people at the facilities to coordinate first line response that entails trauma treatment, treatment of sexually-transmitted infections and HIV, and testing and counselling for HIV. The program also offers appropriate referral support including linkage to judiciary, police and rescue centers for children under 18.
USAID Dumisha Afya is partnering with the county department of health, Ministry of Health and other partners in dealing with the menace. Significant strides made so far include:
• Collaboration with gender desk office of policy and children offices in both sub-counties
• Building capacity of community health volunteers in both counties on referring GBV survivors for clinical management and creating awareness to reduce sexual and gender-based violence
• Improvement in the reporting rate on the Kenya Health Information System that handles general data on health
• Supported development and distribution of relevant tools such as GBV registers
• Supported advocacy on gender-based violence
• Trained 75 focal GBV people, mainly clinicians, nurses and record officers, on GBV new tools
USAID AMPATH Uzima organized events in Elgeyo Marakwet, Trans Nzoia, Uasin Gishu and West Pokot counties including educational events for community health workers as well as sensitization for chiefs and other stakeholders to improve referral and case identification in the future. Community health workers, local radio and electronic and print materials helped inform the public about GBV prevention. An awareness event featuring experts from the Legal Aid Centre of Eldoret (LACE) and other advocates for the prevention of gender-based violence was held in Eldoret.
USAID 4TheChild also supported and participated in a series of events to mark the campaign across Bungoma, Busia, Kakamega, Kisumu, and Siaya counties. In Bungoma, the event was launched by the Deputy Governor who pledged to work with the County Commissioner, the Department of Gender, and development partners to address issues of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).
In Busia, the program joined 35 county child protection stakeholders in a one-day meeting to validate the GBV referral pathway which will provide the necessary information on where to access relevant services and contact information for GBV survivors.
In Kakamega, the program supported the County Department of Health, in an event led by the county’s First Lady, H.E Janet Kassily Barasa, to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with pro bono lawyers to offer legal services to vulnerable survivors of SGBV.
In Kisumu, the program joined the Kisumu County Gender Sector Working Group among other partners to call for a multi-sectoral approach to build the resilience of women and girls in GBV issues. The program also conducted continuous sensitizations across DREAMS safe spaces integrating with other services, including screening for GBV and support for post-GBV care.
In Siaya, the program participated in a procession flagged by the County Commissioner to encourage stakeholders to get involved in amplifying the voices of survivors, empowering survivors, reducing and preventing violence against women and girls, and protecting women’s rights.