Cases of violence against women continue to be reported across the country. Some have led to fatalities and others have led to hospital admission of women with serious injuries.
Majority of the cases reported recently involve young couples, with male brothers and cousins reported as perpetrators of the violence.
For a long time, gender-based violence (GBV), in Kenya at least, was considered a problem largely experienced by economically challenged families. Culture also played a large part, with boys conditioned to subjugate women from an early age.
However, recent reported cases involve well-to-do families. For example, a video circulating online indicated that former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko’s daughter was suffering abuse. Shortly after, another case of violence against a young woman was reported, this time involving the son of the former Inspector-General of Police.
Two cases of GBV coming from what would be considered stable homes makes me believe no woman is safe. I am not suggesting that men do not suffer GBV, but the number of women subjected to it outnumbers that of male victims. The United Nations estimates that 840 million women have experienced physical and sexual violence by an intimate partner, or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime. It also estimates that one in three women have been subjected to physical and/or sexual violence at least once in their lifetime; the figure has remained unchanged for two decades.
Kenya has made strides as far as the legal framework around GBV goes. However, the impact remains low as the society is not sensitised enough on the perils of GBV. African culture has always made the position of girls and young women quite challenging by letting them believe they should be subservient to men. Young men conditioned to treat women as lower than them grow up with the mentality that they have power over women. Urbanisation has not dented this thinking.
The notion of gender equality in Africa is scoffed upon. This is because the focus seems to be on physical strength, where the male triumphs, rather than equality based on the sense of humanity, respect and shared values. Toxic masculinity I believe is largely drawn from the belief that the male physical strength gives them the automatic right to treat women as they please. This is the thinking that now needs to change.
Changing the mentality on toxic masculinity should start from a young age, starting in schools, to equip the citizens with the life skills required to have healthy relationships. The school curriculum should now include perils of GBV. Young people should be taught to look out for forms of abuse—emotional, psychological, physical, sexual and financial.
Financial abuse is a grey area in many homes in Africa, where some women still believe that men should have control over their bank balances and all financial transactions. This happens even in homes where the husband does not work. However, because it is African for a man to be in-charge of a home, it is somehow acceptable that the female breadwinner would still be under the control of a male who contributes little to the family finances.
This is why it is important, firstly, to teach young people to be financially independent and avoid being taken advantage of. As both young male and female workers enter the job market, it is important that they are made to understand how to protect their finances and their financial responsibilities in a home.
Supporting men financially to run families as is common in some African societies is only making GBV worse, leading to financial abuse. It is better to teach both men and women to fish to be able to stand on their two feet.
Kenya has been keen to teach the Constitution in schools. Although that is commendable, I believe the priority should be teaching the perils of GBV to save lives. A Kenyan Judge who could not tell that a 13-year-old was being groomed and sexually abused is a reflection on how men misunderstand abuse of women and young girls in Kenya. How many teen pregnancies are due to sexual abuse too?
Lessons on GBV are important in shaping how the actors within the criminal justice system operate. If a judge could not distinguish between abuse and tradition, then the problem will never go away. Therefore, it is important to emphasise teaching on the perils of GBV to empower women and reduce cases of GBV. Knowledge is power and that on GBV is lacking in many communities in Kenya. It is time GBV lessons were taken out of conference rooms to schools.
