With the Covid-19 infections at the climax mid last year in Rwanda, campaigners for the rights of women and children as well as the media stepped up calls to their government to do more to deter perpetrators of rape, defilement and other forms of sexual misconduct.
The country, which reported its first Covid-19 case on March 14, had, like most others, recorded a huge increase in sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) cases, including domestic violence, mainly against women and girls, during lockdowns meant to curtail the spread of the pandemic.
Mid-year, the Rwanda Public Prosecution Authority (NPPA) kicked off the establishment of a public national registry for those convicted of successful or attempted SGBV. The objective of the register was to put on notice such criminals, have them pay heavily for their crime — which usually leaves in its wake a trail of broken and traumatised survivors — and put a stop to the criminality.
And true to its word, Rwanda last month put in place the Sex Offender Register, which is accessible on the national prosecutor’s website. The campaigners are hopeful that the public naming and shaming will be an effective tool to decisively deal with sexual violence, including the notorious teenage pregnancy. Rwanda becomes the second African country after South Africa with an established record of SGBV criminals.
However, South Africa’s National Register for Sex Offenders (NRSO), established in 2007, bears only the names of those who have been found guilty of sexual offences against children and people with mental disability. While the register is confidential and not publicly accessible, it helps employers in the public and also private sector to keep the listed criminals away from workplaces.
Unprecedented initiative
Back home, the issue of whether to name and shame culprits of sexual offences — in the context of sexual harassment in Kenya’s media industry — arose last week at a forum hosted in Nairobi by Journalists for Human Rights (JHR), under the Voice for Women and Girls’ Rights (VWGRs) programme.
The related touchy issue that came up was whether or not to name and shame culprits of sexual misconduct in the media industry by establishing a register akin to the Rwandan and South African ones.
The unprecedented initiative, “Ending Sexual Harassment in the Media”, spearheaded by the Association of Media Women in Kenya (AMWIK) and Media Council of Kenya (MCK) in partnership with other media organisations and associations, is a great inspiring step in the right direction. It is encouraging that the effort to deal with sexual misbehaviour in the media has emanated from journalists themselves, after dealing with the first step — acceptance and owning the problem — instead of dwelling on denial.
Matters of sexual harassment in the Kenyan media space are hardly discussed in the open or reported, although they are real — complete with survivors, especially younger women new to the profession, some who have opted to quit after nasty experiences.
Sexual harassment
This is not far-fetched. A recent study by Women in the News (WIN) — of the World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) — in eight African countries on sexual harassment in the newsroom placed Kenya in the top list where the vice thrives. The research established that only 30 per cent of such cases are reported with fear of a job loss and stigma taking the best of the victim.
Last November, MCK conducted a related survey which found that at least 73 per cent of female journalists are highly likely to experience sexual harassment while at work. As a result, MCK has started a mentorship and empowerment initiative for female journalists.
On a brighter side, a number of media houses now have in place policies to deter sexual harassment in the newsroom. However, implementation would be the real deal. BY DAILY NATION