Rape Culture in Kenya

photo: picapp.com / by John Gichigi/Getty Images)

by Madeline Wheeler

Following the controversial results of the 2007 presidential election of Mwai Kibaki, violence erupted in Kenya, particularly targeting women — one hospital reported that incidents of rape doubled. This may seem like old news, but the rapes have not stopped. This week, I received an email from CARE, a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty, reporting on the Nairobi Women’s Hospital’s statement that someone is raped every half hour in Kenya. CARE focuses on aiding poor women, aiming to equip them with proper resources and to empower them to help whole families and entire communities.

Because of rape, HIV is also on the rise in the young school-girl population in Kenya. According to the Kenya Broadcast Corporation, First Lady Lucy Kabaki recently appealed to Members of Parliament to make rape charges more punitive, especially when teachers who are entrusted with children’s care are raping their students.

First Lady Kabaki said, “Some of these teachers who are raping our girls know that they are infected [with HIV] and think that they can be cured by engaging in reckless sex with minors. I am extremely concerned that in this day and age the teachers body KNUT (Kenya National Union of Teachers) has not found it necessary to condemn some of their members who have been found to engage in this vice. How can somebody who is a proven rapist be released back to society? Even 20 years is not enough of a sentence. These sexual offenders deserve life imprisonment and if need be, society should look for harsher sentences for those found to be guilty of molesting our children.”

Are you as outraged and disgusted by this news as I am?

The atrocious rape culture in Kenya is another reason to support the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA), a landmark piece of legislation recently introduced in the U.S. Congress that would, for the first time, create a comprehensive strategy to address violence against women and girls and integrate prevention and response measures across U.S. foreign assistance programs.

Passage of I-VAWA would send a clear message that it is not socially acceptable to assault women and girls. You can urge congress to support the I-VAWA by signing the “Stop the Rape and Abuse of Women Worldwide” petition here.

The women and girls of Kenya deserve better.

This post originally appeared on change.org. Republished with author’s permission.