One in five Kenyans experienced violence from an intimate partner during pandemic — report

 

One in five Kenyans reported having experienced violence from an intimate partner in the last year, a report by Amref Health Africa shows.

The study conducted in Kenya, Uganda and Senegal sought to find the impact of Covid-19 on the safety and wellbeing of women since the onset of the pandemic.

The 112 participants in Kenya were drawn from Kajiado, Samburu and Marsabit. Uganda and Senegal had 100 participants each.

The study is titled 'A Multi-Country Situation Assessment of Community Health Workers’ Preparedness to Support Health System Response to Prevention and Management of Covid-19 and Associated Gender-Based Violence'.

It found that 23 per cent of respondents in the three countries had experienced violence at the hands of their partners.

During the research, 84 per cent said the violence increased in frequency during the pandemic while 88 per cent of respondents said they were abused one to three times a week.

“Covid-19 has increased the vulnerability of girls and women to gender-based violence, child, early and forced marriage, and female genital mutilation and cutting,” End FGM/C Centre of Excellence director Dr Tammary Esho said during a virtual launch of the findings.

“Health and social systems need to fully engage the services of community health workers, and to understand their capacities and challenges to empower them to respond to the pandemic and its associated consequences on families, especially at-risk girls and young women,” Esho added.

The victims attributed the increase in aggression to frustration caused by loss of employment and income during the pandemic. 

Physical and verbal abuse took 52 per cent of the incidents.

Fifty-two per cent attributed the rise of violence to lack of communication, 33 per cent said it was due to denial of money and basic needs while 17 per cent said it was due to denial of conjugal rights.

Another 13 per cent of respondents said the violence entailed rape and sexual assault.

The study also revealed that victims often sought assistance from close relatives. Twenty-seven per cent of respondents said they tried to resolve domestic disputes by turning to their parents. Another 11 per cent and 10 per cent sought help from community-based organisations and the police respectively.

"The data unearths the severity of the social and economic consequences of the pandemic particularly on lower-income households living on less than Sh10,000 a month, which continue to bear the brunt of Covid-19 mitigation measures including travel restrictions, curfew and physical distancing,” the report says,. 

The study recommends greater and consistent investment in the health system, food supply chain and social protection mechanisms.      BY THE STAR