Shining Hope for Communities (Shofco) has stepped up its
campaign against gender-based violence (GBV) as the world marks 16 Days of
Activism against the vice.
The organization has
organized GBV sensitization and awareness activities in 10 counties across
Kenya including Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Machakos, Kilifi, Homa Bay, Vihiga,
Kakamega, Siaya, and Nakuru.
The campaign kicked off in Nairobi on Monday, November 25 where
Shofco led over 20 organisations in Kibera sub-county and held graduation for
160 children who successfully completed Rights of Children (ROC) training
program.
“At Shofco, we believe every child deserves the chance to
thrive. We're dedicated to creating safe spaces where children can learn, play,
and gow
“By listening to
their voices, we fulfill their right to self-expression, gain insight into
their vision for a better world, and make their priorities part of our actions
today,” Angela Ng’etich, Project Director at SHOFCO, said during the
graduation.
The ROC program empowers young children with important life
skills including understanding children’s rights and responsibilities,
recognizing and preventing sexual abuse, building habits of personal hygiene,
effective self-defence strategies, fostering respect for their bodies and
boundaries, the dangers of drug abuse, and resisting peer pressure.
Angela said the organization is seeking to reach 500,000
girls in informal settlements across Kenya in the next five years.
"We all need to
contribute to a world where all women and girls are free from all forms of
gender-based violence and have equal opportunities to thrive and attain their
fullest potential.
“Our integrated
approach to programming will ensure over 500,000 girls in informal settlements
across 15 counties experience enhanced safety, access quality education, have
stronger decision-making power and greater dignity,” she stated.
According to a United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and
the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) study, a staggering 736 million women have
been subjected to physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner
sexual violence, or both at least once in their lifetime.
The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS, 2022) data
shows about 34 per cent of women have experienced physical violence since age
15 and 13 per cent of women have experienced sexual violence at some point in
their lives.
“Shofco Gender and
Inclusion program promotes community actions by sensitizing women and girls on the importance of reporting abusers.
“Through a network of gender champions, SHOFCO conducts
outreach activities in 10 counties with local leadership to sign the pledges
against GBV, challenging cultural practices that perpetuate gender inequalities,”
SHOFCO Gender and Inclusion Director, Caroline Sakwa said.
She added:
"365 days a year of efforts towards GBV prevention
activities to shift norms, secure accountability, transform power structures
that oppress women and girls."
This year alone, Shofco has supported 15,162 GBV survivors
with legal aid, psychosocial counselling, medical treatment, and referral for
further specialized support.
Shofco also operates
two safehouses and works with county governments to strengthen existing
safehouses for sustainable support to survivors.
The organization also reached 6469 children with life skills
to strengthen awareness of their rights and GBV to build their self-efficacy.
“We have a real-time data collection and analysis system
that monitors GBV cases, allowing for evidence-based decision-making and
interventions.
“The system has accelerated our work, making it easy to
reach survivors and take necessary actions against perpetrators,” Sakwa stated.
Shofco has also strengthened coordination by establishing a
multi-sectoral coordination mechanism involving the Directorate of Children
Services, county gender focal persons in all sub-counties in 10 counties across
Kenya, legal services, and community prevention mechanisms.
The organization will
expand its services to an additional five counties in 2025 namely Migori, Bungoma,
Kwale, Trans Nzoia, and Meru.
This will bring the
total number of counties to 15 where Shofco will seek to reach 25000 girls with
essential services by the end of the year.
Shofco Founder and CEO Dr. Kennedy Odede, who experienced
first-hand human rights abuses against children while growing up in Kibera,
called for on-ground approach to address GBV cases.
“Shofco has had many years of strategic collaboration with
local communities and leaders to break the silence on gender-based violence.
Let's unite in speaking up for a safer environment for all women and girls,”
Dr. Odede said.
Shofco has been actively implementing its GBV program in
seven counties in 2024 and is scaling up to 15 counties in 2025.
The organization plans to construct five safe houses in five
counties and strengthen 48 existing safe houses across the 15 counties as it
aims to reach 75,000 children with life skills and over 30,000 women and girls
with GBV support services by 2025.
