GBV is sabotaging Kenya’s economy—Victims too broken to work
Technical Working Group on GBV, Including Femicide Chair Nancy Baraza (centre) addresses the media during a public hearing at Kitale National Polytechnic in Trans Nzoia County on May 12, 2025. She is accompanied by committee member Harleen Kaur Jabbal (left) and Trans Nzoia County Commissioner Gideon Oyagi.
What you need to know:
- Kenya loses Sh41 billion annually to economic toll of gender-based violence, trauma, and long-term victim impacts.
- Technical team reveals 700 femicide deaths since 2016; home environments are the most common crime scenes.
Kenya loses Sh41 billion per year economically to gender-based violence (GBV), including femicide. This is according to the Presidential Working Group on GBV, including Femicide, which terms the figure a massive economic dent.
The cases have a serious impact in terms of the cost and pain victims incur, with lifelong impacts making them economically unproductive. At a session in Trans Nzoia County last weekend, the group, led by former Deputy Chief Justice Nancy Baraza, revealed that GBV and other gender-motivated abuses have serious implications and sabotage the economy and society.
“Some of the victims remain permanently affected either physically or mentally, and this makes them unproductive in the economy,” Dr Baraza said at Kitale National Polytechnic.
The sum marked a drop from the cost cited in a report released in 2019 by the National Gender and Equality Commission that said Kenya was losing Sh46 billion annually to GBV.
The Baraza team is collecting views for an actionable policy direction upon presidential approval. Dr Baraza observed that 60 per cent of femicide cases originate from home environments, terming it a dangerous trend.
“We are here to take your views with a lot of seriousness so that we can establish the root causes of the escalating cases. We want to know if family as a basic social unit is still functional, if society is okay, or are the resources allocated to fight this menace even enough?”
She said the public hearings are critical for Kenyans to generate ideas to help them come up with a policy document to guide actionable recommendations. The public hearings are also taking place in Taita Taveta, Garissa, Marsabit, Embu, Samburu, and Kisumu, among other counties.
The group revealed that 700 women have lost their lives to femicide since 2016, according to data provided by the Police and the National Crime Research Centre on reported cases. "This is the first country to address this matter through what we are doing as guided by the President, and it’s a positive move. The statistics are worrying, and part of our terms of reference is to find out the causes and reasons,” Dr Baraza said.
Governor George Natembeya said his administration is working with the county assembly on a policy to fight GBV. “It's a societal problem that everyone must be involved in. As a county government, we are working to provide a centre for recovery so that victims can have a better place to stay during the recovery period.”
The technical group observed that besides deaths and injuries, Kenya loses up to Sh41 billion annually to GBV because victims mostly become unproductive.
County Commissioner Gideon Oyagi condemned negative cultures that perpetuate teen pregnancies and early marriage, among other GBV cases. “This issue of kangaroo courts is wrong. A girl has been defiled, and you find some people in the village trying to solve it at home,” he said, regretting that some victims suffer stigma after being infected with HIV. The administrator said timely reporting of such cases remains vital in the push for justice.
The session was attended by several groups, including women, the youth, people living with disabilities, provincial administration, and law enforcement agencies. Some victims shared their concerns in private, as human rights called for more effort to deal with cases and ensure justice.
“This is a crucial step towards ensuring that victims of GBV and femicide get justice and allowing stakeholders to help the government come up with crucial laws to fight the menace,” said Bonface Wanyoike, a rights officer at Kitale Peace and Justice Centre.
Jane Khaendi Wafula from Trans Nzoia Women Leaders said rape cases and teenage pregnancies remain a huge burden for residents, with Saboti leading because of high poverty levels.
Opis Ojiambo, a representative of people living with disabilities, regretted that women living with disabilities and those mentally challenged have continued to be GBV victims.
