Courts of hope: 2023, when Kenya opened special SGBV courts

Many survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in Kenya will live to remember 2023.

The year saw the launch of at least five SGBV courts across of the country to specifically deal with such cases.

The courts were opened in Siaya, Kisumu, Kibera and Makadara Law Courts, the latter two being in Nairobi.

The Judiciary also designated SGBV registries in Meru, Nakuru, Kiambu, Machakos, Kisii, Kitale and Machakos.

Gender experts and some survivors say the move will ease survivors’ access to fast justice.

Chief Justice Martha Koome, while speaking during the opening of the SGBV court in Siaya, in July, said the court is a beacon of hope to survivors.

“We are not merely unveiling a building made of brick and mortar. Instead, we are unveiling a beacon of hope, a symbol of justice, and a testament to our unwavering commitment to bring the justice system closer to our people,” said Justice Koome.

She noted that justice must be tailored to meet the unique needs of different members of society, especially the most vulnerable.

“Today, we make a significant stride in addressing one of our society’s most daunting challenges – sexual and gender-based violence. A clear demonstration of our unwavering commitment to eradicate such atrocities from our society.’’

She observed that SGBV courts form part of the new strategies under her Social Transformation through Access to Justice Vision ‘’to dismantle formal, informal, and systemic barriers that prevent victims of sexual and gender based violence from accessing justice and to protect the vulnerable.’’

So far, SGBV courts are positively impacting survivors as evidenced by the Winam court in Kisumu City.

The court has a unique way of handling cases, and has helped tens of survivors get justice at the shortest time possible. All take a maximum of three months to be completed.

This has made the court a darling of the locals and more so victims and survivors, as well as gender activists and human rights defenders.

Winam Law Courts administrator Rose Apondo, says the court ensures survivors and all key witnesses take the witness stand on the first day of the case, when the suspect is charged.

This, she says, prevents survivors and other key witnesses from being compromised by the perpetrators, their relatives or their agents.

“By the time the suspect is charged in court, we normally have collected all the evidence needed, which include statements from all the key witnesses. All the documentary evidence is tabled in court on the first day,” she says.

This method, she adds, has worked well because the testimony is normally still fresh in the survivors’ minds, majority of who are minors.

“This method has worked and we are now getting more convictions, and helping many survivors have access to justice,” she adds.

To ensure the safety and privacy of the survivors and key witnesses, the court has devised a witness protection mechanism. Among the features include tinted glasses and distorted voices.

In the last one year, it has completed 123 SGBV cases, 70 per cent of which have registered convictions and rendered justice to the survivors.

The administrator, however, blames low awareness levels at the community level as being behind the county’s high SGBV prevalence. Alternative dispute resolution between survivors’ parents, perpetrators and elders, also remain a setback in the quest for justice for victims.

To arrest this problem, Ms Apondo tells Nation.Africa that they are educating survivors on the importance of their cases being heard and determined.

Kisumu is one of the counties benefitting from the 'Let It Not Happen Again’ project by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation in conjunction with UN Women-Kenya, which sought to prevent SGBV cases, especially during the 2022 electioneering period.

Anna Mutavati, the UN Women Kenya Country Representative says through the project, they have built the capacity of stakeholders including health, police, and Judiciary professionals, to offer high-quality services that respond to survivors’ needs.

“This project has contributed to ending impunity for perpetrators of GBV by encouraging community dialogues to reject harmful practices and social norms that condone and encourage GBV,” says Ms Mutavati.

Giovanni Grandi, Head of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation Regional Office in Nairobi, says that without ambitious investments to scale-up prevention programmes, effective policies, and provision of support services to address violence against women and girls, countries will fail to end gender-based violence by 2030.

“This year, we launched the third phase of the ‘Let It Not Happen Again’ project, which brings our total commitment towards this successful initiative to a staggering 2.7 million Euros (Ksh446 million); and recently we launched an initiative worth 4 million euros (Ksh650 million) specifically targeting women empowerment, improving health and environmental sustainability in arid and semi-arid lands,” Mr Grandi tells Nation.Africa.

Zara Ismail Chebet, who was a key witness in a defilement case in Kisumu, where an 11-year-old girl had been defiled, narrates her experience with the court.

She became a key witness because she took the girl to hospital and picked the P3 form for her.

Ms Chebet reveals that the same day the suspect was charged, is the day the survivor and all the key witnesses took to the witness stand.

“The method is very effective in helping survivors get instant justice. The case in which I was a witness only took one and a half months to be completed. The perpetrator was eventually jailed for 15 years,” says Ms Chebet.

The human right defender in Kaloleni estate in Kisumu, notes that since the court introduced this new method, SGBV cases have slightly gone down.

“People now fear that once they violate girls and they are subjected to the court process, justice will be served within a very short time unlike in the past where such cases took years to be completed,” she reveals.

Kibera Law Courts in Nairobi also a benefitted from a SGBV court. High Court Judge Diana Mochache says the court is helping survivors get faster justice.

Sexual abuse

Speaking during a SGBV sensitisation forum at the Kibera Law Court grounds, earlier in the year, Justice Mochache said the court is at the forefront of the fight against SGBV.

"We want to raise awareness. We want to empower magistrates, the investigating officers and the local communities," she said.

She highlighted the importance of unity to help the women and girls facing sexual abuse.

"Unless we unite, we are not going to deter these people from committing the offences," said Justice Mochache, urging Kibera residents and Kenyans at large, to report cases of gender-based violence on time. Such cases have been high in the area by the virtue of it being an informal settlement.

Dr John Njuguna of Nairobi Women’s Hospital says SGBV cases are still high in the country.

He says the centre recorded 2,339 cases, 882 of them being of girls aged 10-19 between January and June this year. Forty four of them were pregnant.

“Many girls aged 10-19 are facing the triple threat of sexual and gender based violence, teenage pregnancy and HIV and Aids. In cases where we encounter girls undergoing such, we offer medical management, psycho-social support and trauma counselling,” Dr Njuguna tells Nation.Africa.

The sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) strategy 2023-2030 developed by the Judiciary, indicates that the quest for justice for survivors of SGBV has been encumbered by institutional, social and structural barriers over the years.

This sorry state of affairs, the strategy paper highlights, has manifested in a growing backlog of SGBV cases, countrywide.

Some of the institutional barriers include the long delays in completing cases, lack of adequate legal aid services and lack of empathy by those administering justice.

The institutional challenges include lack of data, with respect to the number of SGBV caseloads for each court in the country, and a perception that GBV trial process was tilted heavily in favour of the offender.

“The Strategy recognises and acknowledges the need to provide legal and psychosocial support for all survivors of sexual offences. The strategy rollout is, therefore, necessary to be preceded by a sensitisation and awareness campaigns to demystify sexual offenses courts and raise its public profile.

Also envisaged as part of the roll out is the training of judicial officers and staff on SGBV appropriate services for survivors. This means placing the needs and priorities of survivors, at the forefront of judicial responses,” reads part of the Strategy paper.

In Kenya, just as in most African countries, GBV disproportionately affects more women than men.

According to the 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS), over 40 per cent of women have experienced physical or sexual intimate partner violence in their lifetime.

Moreover, the survey revealed that the prevalence of child marriage and FGM stands at 23 per cent and 21 per cent respectively, in the country.

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