The Nairobi Women's Hospital reports that a person is raped every half an hour in Kenya! Rape not only causes physical harm but also leaves the victim with lifelong psychological trauma not to mention the risk of getting infected with STDs including HIV/AIDS or getting pregnant! For the very young and the very old, it can very well lead to death. The Sexual Offences Act 2006 has introduced stiff minimum penalties for rapists.

Not only is FGC an inhumane practice that violates the rights to physical integrity of its victims, sexual and reproductive rights as well as freedom from torture, it also causes long time disability and even death. The negative health implications consequent to this operation manifest themselves during pregnancy and childbirth, during which there can be severe bleeding, physical disability to the mother or death of both mother and child.

Many girls forced into child marriages begin child bearing in their teens, which adversely affect their health and increases chances of birth complications, infertility and death. This is because their bodies and reproductive organs are not yet fully developed.

This is prevalent with many women having to contend with it in order to keep their jobs or to rise in ranks at the work place.

Physical, mental, economic and emotional abuse of women by their husbands and other family members is common and in many cases has been tolerated.

In the Kenyan society, men have been brought up with the knowledge that they are the heads of their families and women are supposed to submit to them. Hence, this has led to denial of women’s rights among other things denied women access to contraception, employment, education, freedom of association, of movement and the right to choose whom and when to marry among others.

Preliminary assessment of gender based violence in the post election chaos showed an increase in sexual violence in most areas. The worst hit girls and women were in Nairobi, Central and North Rift Valley. Perpetrators exploited the conflict by committing sexual violence with impunity and efforts to protect or respond to the needs of women and girls were remarkably insufficient.