Kenya has witnessed an increase in sexual gender-based violence.
Lockdown, closure of schools and many children living under the same roof with the perpetrators hav made the schoolgirls encounter hardships.
Gender-based violence, including verbal, sexual, and physical forms of violence continues to be a major issue among adolescent girls and young women in every part of the country.
GBV survivors are at high risk of repeated victimisation.
This often leads to mental health issues and disruption in education.
Efforts to engage GBV survivors in services are useful in lowering rates of future repeat GBV encounters.
Inadequate knowledge and information on adolescent and young people sexual reproductive health, poor access to services among adolescents have contributed to the high rate of sexual gender-based violence, teenage pregnancies, child-forced marriages, school dropout rates that are as high as 26 per cent.
This is according to the Kenya Demographic Health Survey 2014.
Many adolescent girls in marginalised areas face considerable risks and vulnerabilities that affect their education status, health, and general well-being.
They are at high risk for early marriage, unintended pregnancy, sexual assault, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.
In June 2021 the government made a valiant commitment to end gender-based violence by 2026.
When making the announcement, the government promised to intensify its campaign to end these violations by undertaking a series of commitments that would remove the systemic barriers that allow GBV to thrive.
Therefore, relevant government officers should prioritise these commitments to make young women live with dignity in the communities
The community and its focal persons should be sensitised on SGBV.
Ministry of Education should also consider incorporating the provision of sexual health information that addresses SGBV.
Healthcare workers, legal team and the disciplined forces to have regular refresher courses on SGBV.
The government has committed to the full implementation of GBV laws and policies by adopting an indicator in the government performance contracting framework to track duty bearers accountability on enforcement and implementation of GBV laws and policies.
Fatinato is the youth coordinator at the Center for the Study of Adolescence and Nthiana is a youth advocate at Naya Kenya
Edited by Kiilu Damaris