From perpetrators to allies: A new frontline in Kenya's war on femicide
Femicide victims from left: Vivian Kajaya, Eileen Cherotich, Seth Nyakio and Rita Waeni.
What you need to know:
- UN Women engages men to challenge patriarchy, promote gender equality, and end violence against women.
- National initiative trains young men as allies, redefining masculinity to prevent femicide and gender-based violence.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime released a report in December 2024 indicating 725 reported cases of femicide, translating into 2.66 per 100,000 women in Kenya.
Every week, the report showed, 47 women are killed in Kenya. About 75 per cent of these killings are committed by someone known to the victims – intimate partner, relative or friend.
Globally, the report indicated that every 11 minutes, a woman is killed. A month earlier, Kenya’s Deputy Inspector General of Police Eliud Lagat had disclosed that in the preceding three months alone, they had recorded 97 cases.
Femicide has been on the rise. It is for this reason that the UN Women, in conjunction with Unesco, has launched an initiative of young men to end the vice. The two UN agencies are using male engagement to involve boys and men for the benefit of both genders.
The initiative is engaging young men as change agents to end femicide and pervasive violence against women and girls. It seeks to create awareness of gender norms and negative masculinity that influence men into abusing women’s and girls’ rights.
The initiative is also transforming young men into gender equality champions, who advocate women's rights, endorse gender-sensitive policies, and participate in gender equality-led campaigns to raise awareness of women’s empowerment.
The UN Women and Unesco held the inaugural National Young Male Dialogue Forum to intensify efforts towards intentional engagement of men as frontline champions in preventing femicide and violence against women and girls. The forum examined the transformative impact that can be realised.
The forum also delved into how gender norms shape the experience of men and boys, as well as understanding the effect of stereotypes of men and boys and promoting a deeper understanding of the social construction of masculinities in specific cultural and societal contexts.
“Men can support gender equality by advocating women's rights, endorsing gender-sensitive policies, and participating in gender equality-led campaigns to raise awareness of women’s empowerment. Many men are starting to challenge the pressure associated with traditional masculinity,” said Sebastian Gatimu, the UN Women Kenya planning and coordination expert.
Mr Gatimu noted that men are using their voices and privilege to shift gender norms and perceptions, and address patriarchal beliefs, practices, institutions and structures that have contributed to gender inequality. Kenya has a target to end gender-based violence by 2026. To achieve this, men must play a role.
Additionally, the Kenya National Policy on Gender and Development of 2019 promotes male involvement in managing and responding to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). This is a huge step towards ensuring gender-sensitive involvement in both the public and private spheres.
“Male counterparts are defenders of women and girls who are suffering in every community around the world. While women must continue to lead the movement for gender equality, we need to engage boys and young men more intentionally to achieve gender equality, as well as prevent femicide and violence against women and girls,” Mr Gatimu said.
During the forum, details emerged that UN Women Kenya and Unesco are working on mechanisms that will integrate young men into the National Male Engagement and Inclusion Strategy.
Nairobi Women Hospital CEO Sam Thenya observes that femicide is not a government but a societal issue. Terming the current situation a national crisis, he reveals that gender violence recovery centres that the hospital runs usually record an average of 4,000 GBV cases every month.
“It is a crisis and something definitely needs to be done. The economic burden of GBV is enormous on the economy. We must speak against this vice being perpetuated against women and girls. They are our daughters, wives, sisters and mothers,” Dr Thenya said.
Faith Nashipae, a leading Men and Boy-Child champion, notes as critical the involvement of men and boys in increasing positive masculinity and ending GBV. “Male engagement and inclusion is paramount if we want to achieve gender equality as a country. It will present an opportunity to address social issues that disadvantage men, women, boys and girls in our society.”
Ms Nashipae, who also chairs the national committee on male engagement and inclusion, adds that engaging men and boys is a transformational approach in ensuring social norms transformation and ending GBV.
In addition, she observes that to change the social norms in different communities, men have to be fully involved as they are the gatekeepers of culture. Over the past 10 years, more than two million men and people of all genders have participated in the campaign, reaching close to 40 million, including women and girls in the most crisis-hit parts of the world.
