NMS reveals 5,589 rape survivors recorded last 12 months
Rape culture refers to a society in which rape is common and sexual violence against women is normalised and justified in the media and popular culture.
Rape has been fuelled through using misogynistic rhetoric, objectifying women’s bodies, and glamorising sexual assault, resulting in a society that disregards women’s rights and protection.
The act of rape degrades, terrorises, and limits all women. Because rape exists, most women and girls limit their conduct.
That is how rape operates as a potent means of holding the entire female population in subservience to the entire male population, despite the fact that many men do not rape and many women are never victims of rape.
Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) has revealed that over the last 12 months, it recorded 5,589 rape survivors, 52 of whom were infected with HIV while 104 conceived.
Speaking at an event organised by the National Aids Control Council and other entities in Mathare yesterday on the triple threat facing teenagers (pregnancies, gender-based violence, and HIV), County Woman Representative Esther Passaris urged religious leaders, particularly the Catholic Church, to be more understanding and accommodating regarding abortion and contraception for teens.
“We are condemning women to poverty because of our current stand on abortion and the fact that young girls are being denied contraceptives by the Ministry of Health. No one should stand in the way of the lives and well-being of hundreds of thousands of women because of personal religious beliefs,” Passaris said.
In 2020, then-Nairobi police chief Philip Ndolo revealed that 129 rape cases had been recorded in the capital between January and June, while Mercy Mwangangi, then-Health Chief Administrative Secretary, said last year that at least 5,000 rape cases had been recorded in the country since mid-March 2021, with many involving girls under the age of 18.
Kenya is experiencing a “teenage pregnancy epidemic,” with 45,700 girls becoming pregnant in a two month period, according to Stephanie Musho, a human rights lawyer and sexual and reproductive health expert.
“Also, HIV-positive women continue to be stripped of their dignity and face abuse in the form of forced sterilisation, which is seen as an unscientific and regressive method of reducing HIV infection despite there being no scientific evidence to support these assaults. Worse still is that seven women die every day from complications arising from unsafe abortion. The legal and policy gaps continue to exacerbate the status quo,” Musho stated.
However, Health Principal Secretary, Susan Mochache insisted that abortion does not reflect the cultural and religious values of the vast majority of Kenyans.
“Our policy, which was launched today, reflects on what the majority want, while Passaris is speaking for the minority. People under 18 are children and their parents must be consulted on decisions that affect them,” Mochache said.
