Health workers grappling with conflict-related sexual violence
NAIROBI, 15 January 2008 (PLUSNEWS) - As Kenya counts the human and material
cost of the political violence, hospitals are reporting an increase in
reported rapes during the immediate post-election period, spurring the
government and health organisations to find ways to treat these cases as well
as protect the displaced from further incidents of sexual violence.
“In the first two days of the violence, 56 people were treated for rape and
admitted; there are so many other victims back in the slums who have not
received any medical attention,” Lucy Kiama, chief nurse at the Nairobi
Women’s Hospital, which specialises in sexual violence, told IRIN.
She added that the number of rape survivors seeking treatment at the facility
had doubled during the violence. Many women who came to the hospital, she
added, reported that there were many more in the slums who had failed to seek
treatment because of security reasons or fear of stigmatisation.
Political unrest erupted in many parts of Kenya on 30 December 2007,
immediately after the Electoral Commission of Kenya declared incumbent
President Mwai Kibaki the winner of the election held on 27 December.
Kibaki’s main challenger, Raila Odinga, rejected the result and claimed he
won the election, alleging it was rigged in Kibaki’s favour.
The UN estimates the violence has led to the displacement of 250,000 people
across the country, many of whom are living in hastily assembled camps.
Health workers have also expressed concern that women and children remain at
risk of sexual attacks in these poorly protected camps, especially given that
the referral systems that would exist normally to handle sex attacks have
broken down.
“Women and children were raped, men and boys as well . it is still taking
place in the camps because of the large numbers of displaced people,” said
Florence Gachanja, national programme officer for the UN Population Fund,
UNFPA.
According to Jeanne Ward, an international consultant on gender-based
violence, it is crucial that protective measures such as lighting and
separate latrines for men and women be set up in the camps to prevent further
attacks.
She noted that in emergency situations where the infrastructure breaks down,
women and girls tend to be put at increased risk of violence, particularly
sexual violence.
“These sexual attacks may be crimes of opportunism, where people take
advantage of the breakdown of normal protection mechanisms to rape, or in
cases where the war pits one group against another, such as ethnic violence,
the rapes may be targeted at one particular group of women and girls,” she
said, noting that in Kenya’s case, it was too early to tell whether the rapes
were gratuitous or targeted, although investigations had begun.
“Sexual violence has immediate consequences for the physical and
psychological health of the survivor; for instance, they need to have access
to post-exposure prophylactic [PEP] kits to prevent them from contracting
HIV,” she added. “Where people are displaced, it is vital that they know
where to go in case they are attacked and that they receive psycho-social
post-trauma care.”
Taking action
The government and NGOs have begun to respond to the situation, with UNFPA
providing PEP kits to medical centres through the Kenya Red Cross Society and
other NGOs, and larger hospitals setting up satellite centres in badly
affected areas to provide a minimum service to the injured, including people
who have suffered sexual attacks.
The Nairobi Women’s Hospital, in collaboration with the Psychological
Association of Kenya, has opened counselling centres in the slum areas of
Mathare, Huruma and Kibera, the areas worst-affected by violence in the
capital.
The hospital has appealed to counsellors to volunteer their services for
victims of sexual violence among internally displaced persons in other parts
of the country, especially in the Rift Valley areas of Eldoret, Timboroa,
Nakuru, Burnt Forest and Limuru, and the cities of Kisumu and Mombasa, which
were also severely affected by the violence.
Jane Onyango, executive director of the Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya,
cautioned that gender issues must not be forgotten when seeking solutions to
Kenya’s current crisis.
“In situations such as this, the legal process is hard as it is often
difficult for most of the women to identify their abusers,” she said. “There
is a need for greater collaboration among institutions dealing with women’s
issues,” she added.
Onyango said the federation planned to visit the violence hotspots to assist
in the process of conflict resolution and in counselling internally displaced
people.
According to Ward, despite the current difficulties, Kenya has addressed the
issue of sexual violence and has mechanisms in place that make it better able
than many of its neighbours to handle the current situation.
“Nevertheless, there will be a need to create a multi-sectoral response to
ensure that beyond addressing the health needs of survivors of sexual
violence, security issues are dealt with, the legal process is streamlined
and the police have the capacity to handle the cases in a safe and ethical
manner,” she said.
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