The National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC) Chairperson, Rehema Jaldesa has called for urgent collective action to combat the rising instances of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in Kenya. In her speech delivered by the commission's CEO Dr.
Purity Ngina during a public meeting with leaders and residents of Taita Taveta County at Voi Youth Center aimed at addressing rising cases of GBV, Jaldesa highlighted the alarming statistics from the 2022 Kenya Demographic Health Survey, which paint a grim picture of GBV across the country. She noted that in Taita Taveta County, 14% of women aged 15 to 49 reported experiencing physical violence, while 30% reported sexual violence.
Other counties, including Murang'a, Migori, and Meru, recorded even higher rates, with figures as high as 54% for sexual violence. "In the recent times, we have witnessed disturbing trends and upsurge of gender-based violence including the killing of women because of their gender and that is what we call homicide.
Women and girls have died as a result of homicide and I gave statistics of 97 women and girls who have been killed in the past three months. These statistics are of October 2024.
