State and non-state actors in the gender sector have called for concerted effort in addressing alarming cases of Sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV) in the country.
Deputy Inspector General Administrative Police Service Gilbert Masengeli, speaking during a visit to Nanyuki policare, a one-stop shop for preventing SGBV incidents in Laikipia County, said 13 per cent of women and 34 per cent had experienced sexual violence and physical violence, respectively, since the age of 15 years. "It's alarming that 578 femicide cases have been reported last year, an increase of 8 per cent," Masengeli said. "The National Police Service is committed to addressing gender-based violence; it is our intent to ensure, at one point, we will have a gender desk in all the 47 counties to address the gender issues," Masengeli said.
At the same time, he said that there will be a transformation of police stations to boost efficiency in addressing SGBV in a professional and seamless way.
Laikipia Governor Joshua Irungu said women were at risk of SGBV due to limited resources in the county to support the gender programmes.
