Press Release -16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence

Press Release : Make Education Safe for All

• 80 percent of girls in North Eastern Province are not enrolled in school
• 1.2 million Kenyan children do not attend school
• The primary-school dropout rate of 27 percent is due in part to poverty levels
• Universal Primary Education is pivotal to achievement of Kenya’s vision 2030.

Nairobi, Kenya - The 16 days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence will be marked from 25th November to 10th December, 2015. The international campaign against gender based violence is an annual event that links Gender Based Violence (GBV) and Human Rights and to emphasize that such violence is a human rights violation. The international campaign originated from the first Women's Global Leadership Institute coordinated by the Center for Women's Global Leadership in 1991. The year 2015 marks the 20th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the most progressive road map to gender equality.

“The 16 days will contribute to a World free from gender based violence especially for women, girls, persons with disabilities, orphaned and vulnerable children.”says World Vision Kenya National Director Mr. Dickens Thunde. He adds that the issues of children living in conflict and emergency areas or living with ailing, elderly parents or care givers  need to be addressed as we mark the event.

 This year’s theme is “From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World: Make Education Safe for All”. It seeks to highlight the relationship between militarism and the right to education in situations of relative peace, violent conflict, and a variety of other education settings.

 “As a child focused organisation we priorities to ensure that the well-being of children especially the most vulnerable in the community access to quality education is addressed through improved protection and to strengthen the capacity of households and institutions to nurture and protect children from abuse and all forms of violence by 2020” says Mr. Thunde.

Gender Based Violence is defined as any harm or suffering that is perpetrated against a woman or girl, man or boy and that has a negative impact on the physical, sexual or psychological health, development of identity of the person. Forms of gender based violence include sexual violence, physical, emotional and psychological violence, harmful traditional practices and socio-economic violence. The cause of the violence is founded in gender based power inequalities and gender based discrimination.

“While GBV disproportionally affects women and girls, it also affects men and boys. These abuses take place all over the world in homes, schools, work places and communities” says Mr. Thunde.

The relevance of this years theme “Make Education for All” is to ensure that children have access to education as a public good and fundamental human right recognized in Article 26 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and upheld in various international and regional human rights conventions and treaties. Free Primary Education was introduced in Kenya in 2003. In 2008, the government began efforts to improve access to secondary education by meeting tuition costs. As of 2013, Kenya’s net enrollment rate (NER) was estimated at 86 percent, closing the gap to achieving the Millennium Development Goal of basic education for all children by 2015 (UNICEF, 2014).

“Education can reduce exposure to, and perpetration of GBV act amongst children specifically vulnerable children in the community that can have a negative impact in their future life.”says Mr. Thunde. Gender based violence is preventable and access to education and educational institutions can play a central role in ending the act that affects especially vulnerable children in the community.  

However, according to a UNICEF 2014 report, 80 percent of girls in North Eastern Province are not enrolled in school. Reasons for lack of school attendance include early marriage, teen pregnancy, and prohibitive educational expenses, including school uniforms and supplies. School attendance is still a challenge in Kenya, despite tuition support, with over 1.2 million Kenyan children out of school.

The Education for All 2015 report reveals that the attainment of Universal Primary Education (UPE) remains the biggest challenge in the provision of education globally. Universal Primary Education is pivotal to achievement of Kenya’s vision 2030. The primary-school dropout rate of 27 percent is due in part to poverty levels that require children to work and support the family daily needs and income. This problem is more severe at the secondary-school level, where the enrollment rate is only about 40 percent (UNICEF, 2014). While gender equality in education is improving, sharp regional disparities remain.

“Nonetheless, the right to education is subject to political, economic, and a major change or period of change that causes a lot of conflict, confusion or anger in a community ” says Mr. Thunde . He notes that such situations leaves particularly vulnerable children to be denied the crucial right to access education.

World Vision Kenya requires citizens to report cases of GBV and support survivors. Work hands on to deliver urgent care and referrals for victims of assault-police, hospital and shelter. The organisation requests Kenyans to engage in e-Activism during the official 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign in order to raise awareness! Most importantly INTEGRATE! and build skills.

“As World Vision Kenya we have a call to action on policy makers and local leaders to take action against gender based violence” says Mr. Thunde. We want to create awareness among health care providers, the police, opinion leaders about gender based violence through training modules. We would like to engage religious leaders and communities in addressing GBV including Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and disability.

About World Vision Kenya

World Vision Kenya is a global Christian relief, development and advocacy organisation dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. For 40 years, World Vision initiatives in Kenya have helped strengthen the well-being of children in 57 Area Development Programmes spread across 35 of the 47 counties, nationwide.

Our Focus Areas

Our community development approach focuses on health, HIV and AIDS, Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), education, child protection, food security and economic development. Through our advocacy work, we enable the voices of the children and their communities to reach decision-makers who have the power to change unjust policies and practices. We work alongside the central government, county governments and other humanitarian agencies to provide life-saving assistance for communities affected by disaster.

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World Vision Kenya

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May Ondeng

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