Serial abuse allegations expose the urgency of prevention over response
Hundreds of protesters march through the streets of Nairobi during an anti-femicide demonstration on December 10, 2024, demanding action against increasing violence against women.
What you need to know:
- A partnership between KU and Warwick demonstrates institutional commitment to addressing GBV through prevention rather than response.
- Despite the troubling reality that only 3.6 per cent of affected students report incidents.
"Are you part of the solution or the problem?" So reads a mural featuring a quizzical baboon. In gender discourse, those who remain indifferent to gender-based violence (GBV) are considered perpetrators by omission and part of the problem.
On July 10, Kenyatta University (KU) and the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom showcased their commitment to being part of the solution through a webinar on their partnership to create safe spaces in institutions of learning.
Led by Prof Judy Waudo of KU and Prof Georgia Kremmyda of Warwick, the webinar was designed to achieve several objectives: create awareness about the importance of safe spaces for women and girls in higher education and workplaces; share knowledge and best practices from ongoing projects and academic institutions; amplify the voices and lived experiences of young women to inform policy and practice; identify key challenges and barriers to safety, inclusion, and empowerment; foster dialogue and collaboration among stakeholders to develop practical, sustainable solutions; and inspire commitment to creating safer, more inclusive environments across education, community, and work sectors.
Learning environments
The rationale stems from the reality that despite various measures to address GBV, including legislation, "it remains widespread in the country, occurring within homes, communities, workplaces, as well as learning environments."
Moreover, a 2022 study by KU's Centre for Gender Equality established that 28.4 per cent of students had experienced GBV, 58.7 per cent were aware of unsafe spaces on campus, and only 3.6 per cent reported incidents. The majority were restrained by fear, stigma, and slow administrative response.
The project has created an app to enable anonymous reporting that triggers real-time response and tracking toward justice for survivors. It also serves as a mechanism for gathering and storing data. Related activities include awareness creation, development of policies against GBV, and involvement of students and staff in furthering and sustaining the intervention.
Of particular note is the engagement of "GBV ambassadors"—a group of students who are trained and deployed to reach out to and mentor their peers on relevant topics.
Key challenges registered so far include a stubborn patriarchal culture bolstered by retrogressive practices and gender stereotypes, and paradoxically, technological advancements that have created new platforms for GBV.
Studies and anecdotal evidence show that online GBV is a major global concern manifesting in body shaming, digital stalking, anonymous attacks, character assassination, sexual blackmail, unauthorised publication of intimate photos and private information, cyberbullying, sexual harassment, and impersonation. The diffuse nature of social media, through which these abuses occur, complicates the fight against GBV given the platforms' immediacy and extensive reach.
The initiative emphasises "preventing" GBV. Most GBV interventions revolve around response—action after the fact—yet the bullet that will eliminate the vice is prevention: action before it happens.
What emerged clearly during the seminar was that this remains an infant initiative whose long-term impacts are yet to be realised, and that the university has not yet deliberately mobilised staff members into the ambassador initiative, which should be a natural next step.
Additionally, the initiative has yet to be evaluated. However, its rollout alone confirms a proactivity that could be emulated by other institutions of learning and beyond.
But what constitutes a safe space in the first place? Kenyatta University's Safe Spaces Protocol for Prevention of GBV defines it as a sphere "in which the physical, social, psychological, and spiritual health and well-being of all employees and learners are assured, irrespective of the status they hold within the institutional hierarchy."
Perhaps unknown to many, a safe spaces application manual exists in Kenya and is housed in the State Department of Gender Affairs. Although this document clarifies that a safe space is not necessarily a physical structure, its guidelines leave little doubt that the designers actually conceived it as such. This conceptualisation aligns with that in humanitarian and development circles, where safe spaces are understood to be actual physical sanctuaries where victims of GBV seek physical protection, healing, and empowerment.
Unsafe spaces
Ideally, everywhere should be a safe space. The focus should not be on "establishing" or "creating" safe spaces but on ensuring that every space is safe. Continuing to think in terms of creating such spaces endorses the notion that some areas must remain unsafe, which is self-defeating. This presents a conceptual conundrum that must be addressed.
Incidentally, the webinar came on the heels of allegations by alumnae of a famous Kenyan girls' school about serial sexual abuse of current and past students by a staff member. The published report highlights institutional inertia and an obsession with reputation over justice for survivors. Should this school not be the next candidate for the safe spaces initiative?
The writer is a lecturer in Gender and Development Studies at South Eastern Kenya University ([email protected])
