Homa Bay County Government has stepped up the fight against gender based violence with the launch of the County’s Gender Based Violence(GBV) policy. The county also launched the Homa Bay County Digital and Innovation Hub.
Through a partnership with Nyanza and Western Women’s Forum (NWWF), the policy framework will comprehensively promote, prevent, protect, and coordinate the myriad phases of Sexual and Gender Based Violence.
“Today we are launching the SGBV policy. You cannot tackle an issue if you don’t have a legal backing. That is the foundation which has input from Members of County Assembly and all local and International stakeholders,” said Homa Bay County Governor, Gladys Wanga.
The Governor said Homa Bay County is taking a multi-stakeholder approach including men and security agencies. They will leverage on digital innovations and staging national dialogues in elimination of SGBV not only in the county but across Kenya.
The policy seeks to protect women, men, girls and boys against Sexual and Gender Based Violence by addressing issues based on social, political, and economic forms of violence against boys, girls, women. The framework will also ventilate on the mechanisms of addressing these issues.
It emphasizes involvement of the community in every SGBV projects and programs to enhance reintegration of the survivors and perpetrators for family continuity and development.
“This policy gives the county a boost and ability to start official engagement with strategic partners, funds and resource mobilisation drive and the overall direction all stakeholders must follow to see full implementation of the framework,” said Nyanza and Western Women Forum (NWWF)Executive Director, Elizabeth Adongo.
There is glaring evidence from the National Crimes Research Centre NCRC (2020) that Homa Bay County statistics is above the national threshold of SGBV violations in the Country. Sexual Assault victims accounts for the highest number of cases reported in the county at 54.5 percent against a national average of 15.7 percent. Cases of rape accounts for 38.6 percent against a national average of 12.9 percent as Defilement closes the list of top three SGBV cases at 30.1 percent against a national average of 7.1 percent.