Activists Want Multi-Sectorial Approach on Fight Against Gender Based Violence
Civil societies’ activists have called for a multi-sectorial approach in the fight against gender based violence (GBV) among students in higher learning institutions in the country.
Led by Wikimedia Kenya User Group Co-founder Winnie Kabintie, the activists said cohabitation was on the rise among students living in private hostels.
Kabintie, speaking during a workshop, ‘Arts and Feminism’ at Pwani University in Kilifi County, said lack of proper GBV awareness in the learning institutions was putting many a students at higher risk.
According to her stakeholders including national and county governments and key GBV actors should work together to end the vice.
“Cohabitation in universities and colleges is on the rise and this is allowing those involved to perform functions of married couples in colleges.”
Those functions include domestic chores like cooking, washing, cleaning and indulging in sexual activities. This results into forced sex, abortion and quarrels when such couples start curtailing freedoms of relationship.
The situation goes a notch higher when the students receive their Higher Education Loan Board loans (HELB) that they also use to sustain cohabitation practices.
In her exposition, Kabintie described cohabitation as living together and having sexual relationship without being married.
It is her view that education on GBV issues is the key in helping those cohabiting at institutional level in reducing the growing incidents of violation in higher institutions of learning, especially among students residing off campus hostels.
She faulted existing GBV laws saying they were weak and poorly enforced by law enforcement agencies.
“GBV laws needs to be reviewed and made stronger because we have seen offenders walking free while the victims suffer.”
A senior lecturer at Pwani University’s Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies Dr Dorcus Chebet called for the establishment of GBV resource centres within higher learning institutions to deal with victims of the menace.
Through the centres, she said needy students would get a chance to report cases of victimisation apart from enabling the institutions to monitor and address such cases more effectively.
“There has been a significant increase in GBV cases at higher learning institutions, and we need urgent measure to address this.
Consultation needs to be initiated to ensure such facilities are set up. This will go along way in serving victims in the institutions.”
According to the lecturer incorporating GBV topics into higher learning institution curricula will go along way to manage the emerging issues and challenges afflicting students in universities or tertiary colleges.
Brian Salano, an information science student at Technical University of Mombasa, wants communities to be involved with other stakeholders in not only highlighting or reporting GBV, but also collaborate in protecting the rights of such students.
According to him most GBV victims do not get justice due to pressure from involved family members that drop GBV cases or due to lack of witnesses to give evidence in courts.
The student called on the universities to establish guidance and counseling programmes in order to support victims of GBV.
“Survivors who have
experience GBV suffer personal trauma that requires psychologists or counselors to take them through mental support process,” he said.
Most GBV victims, he added, were ashamed to open up and seek help from counselling resources within or without the universities.
“Majority of the male student suffer silently because they feel ashamed to report such cases.”
