National Guidelines on Management of Sexual Violence in Kenya
National Guidelines on Management of Sexual Violence in Kenya
National Guidelines on Management of Sexual Violence in Kenya
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
Overview <strong>of</strong> <strong>Sexual</strong> <strong>Violence</strong><br />
Introducti<strong>on</strong><br />
<strong>Sexual</strong> violence is a serious human rights issue and public health problem <strong>in</strong> <strong>Kenya</strong> 1<br />
and the health sector bears much <strong>of</strong> the ec<strong>on</strong>omic burden <strong>of</strong> the violence through<br />
public f<strong>in</strong>anc<strong>in</strong>g and/or direct public expenditures. The <strong>Kenya</strong> <strong>Sexual</strong> Offences Act<br />
No 3 <strong>of</strong> 2006 2 , (Revised Editi<strong>on</strong> 2007), def<strong>in</strong>es a sexual <strong>of</strong>fence as that <strong>of</strong>fence<br />
that is prescribed <strong>in</strong> the act. <strong>Sexual</strong> violence therefore would <strong>in</strong>clude acts such as<br />
rape (secti<strong>on</strong> 3), and attempted rape (secti<strong>on</strong> 4), defilement (secti<strong>on</strong> 8), attempted<br />
defilement (secti<strong>on</strong> 9), gang rape (secti<strong>on</strong> 10) <strong>in</strong>decent act (secti<strong>on</strong> 11 and 11A),<br />
sexual assault (secti<strong>on</strong> 5), <strong>in</strong>cest by both males (secti<strong>on</strong> 20) and females (secti<strong>on</strong> 21),<br />
deliberate transmissi<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> HIV and any other life threaten<strong>in</strong>g sexually transmitted<br />
diseases (secti<strong>on</strong> 26), sexual <strong>of</strong>fences relat<strong>in</strong>g to positi<strong>on</strong>s <strong>of</strong> authority and pers<strong>on</strong>s <strong>in</strong><br />
positi<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> trust(secti<strong>on</strong> 24). <strong>Sexual</strong> violence has a pr<strong>of</strong>ound impact <strong>on</strong> physical and<br />
mental health <strong>of</strong> the survivors. In additi<strong>on</strong> to caus<strong>in</strong>g physical <strong>in</strong>jury, it is associated<br />
with an <strong>in</strong>creased risk <strong>of</strong> a range <strong>of</strong> sexual and reproductive health problems, with<br />
both immediate and l<strong>on</strong>g-term c<strong>on</strong>sequences.<br />
Background to Review <strong>of</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>Guidel<strong>in</strong>es</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
The <strong>Kenya</strong>n government and other stakeholders <strong>in</strong> acknowledg<strong>in</strong>g the c<strong>on</strong>sequences <strong>of</strong><br />
sexual violence have over the years developed resp<strong>on</strong>ses that are captured <strong>in</strong> the legal and<br />
policy frameworks and programmatic <strong>in</strong>terventi<strong>on</strong>s. The Divisi<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> Reproductive Health<br />
(DRH) <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Kenya</strong>n M<strong>in</strong>istry <strong>of</strong> Public Health and Sanitati<strong>on</strong>- plans, implements and<br />
m<strong>on</strong>itors programmes to promote the reproductive health <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Kenya</strong>n people. Her goal is<br />
to ensure provisi<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> a comprehensive and <strong>in</strong>tegrated system <strong>of</strong> reproductive health care,<br />
through a range <strong>of</strong> services <strong>of</strong>fered by the government, n<strong>on</strong>-governmental organizati<strong>on</strong>s<br />
(NGOs), and the private sector. Internati<strong>on</strong>al human rights <strong>in</strong>struments and standards such<br />
as Internati<strong>on</strong>al C<strong>on</strong>ference <strong>of</strong> Populati<strong>on</strong> and Development (ICPD) and the Millennium<br />
Development Goals, to which <strong>Kenya</strong> is a signatory, obligate governments to put <strong>in</strong> place<br />
measures to address sexual violence. <strong>Kenya</strong> recognises both c<strong>on</strong>stituti<strong>on</strong>al and traditi<strong>on</strong>al<br />
legal systems <strong>of</strong> law, although <strong>Kenya</strong>’s C<strong>on</strong>stituti<strong>on</strong> makes it clear that traditi<strong>on</strong>al laws shall<br />
not be applied where they are repugnant to ‘justice and morality’ 3 . Provisi<strong>on</strong>s <strong>of</strong> the law<br />
and the policy documents emanat<strong>in</strong>g from the specific sectors have g<strong>on</strong>e a step further<br />
to domesticate the relevant <strong>in</strong>ternati<strong>on</strong>al <strong>in</strong>struments such as the ICPD and MDGs, <strong>in</strong>to<br />
usable guidel<strong>in</strong>es that can <strong>in</strong>form service provisi<strong>on</strong>. These <strong>in</strong>clude the <strong>Sexual</strong> Offences Act,<br />
and the <str<strong>on</strong>g>Nati<strong>on</strong>al</str<strong>on</strong>g> Policy <strong>on</strong> Gender and Development.<br />
Specifically for the health sector, the Reproductive Health Policy, aris<strong>in</strong>g from the<br />
sec<strong>on</strong>d <str<strong>on</strong>g>Nati<strong>on</strong>al</str<strong>on</strong>g> Health Sector Strategic Plan (NHSSP II) has g<strong>on</strong>e further to provide<br />
1 <str<strong>on</strong>g>Nati<strong>on</strong>al</str<strong>on</strong>g> Reproductive Health Policy; Pg 16, Gender Issues, <strong>Sexual</strong> and Reproductive Rights<br />
2 The SOA is an act <strong>of</strong> parliament (2006) whose foundati<strong>on</strong> is the promoti<strong>on</strong> and protecti<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>on</strong>e’s rights.<br />
The act makes the provisi<strong>on</strong> for the preventi<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> the sexual <strong>of</strong>fences and the protecti<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> all pers<strong>on</strong>s from<br />
unlawful sexual acts.<br />
3 C<strong>on</strong>stituti<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Kenya</strong>, Secti<strong>on</strong> 76<br />
xi