Murang’a County Woman Representative Betty Maina has called for collective responsibility towards ending the menace that is gender-based violence (GBV) by the community taking preventive measures as opposed to only reacting afterwards.
Maina, who was speaking at Mung’etho in Maragua Ridge where she had gone to condole with the family of Grace Wanja, a GBV victim who died after she was burnt by her boyfriend earlier this month, noted that preventing GBV through a whole-of-society approach is better than reacting after it has happened.
She challenged religious leaders, national government administration officers (NGAOs), Community Health Promoters (CHP) and all other community leaders, who may be privy to cases of GBV to intervene before they turn fatal.
“Many of the cases that turn out to be catastrophic escalate gradually; these community leaders could try to intervene as soon as they learn about such cases,” Maina said.
“A good number of these cases are not a singular offence; they are often between people who have been involved in violent domestic disputes before and they are known by those close to them and sometimes even the authorities,” she added.
The MP noted that many of the perpetrators of GBV are known to the victims with a majority of them being people they are romantically involved with or even family members.
“Of all the cases of GBV that are reported, only a small percentage involves strangers; most of the perpetrators are people well known to the victims,” she said.
Maina reiterated that GBV destroys lives because by the time many of the cases reach the authorities, victims are seriously wounded or even dead while the perpetrator ends up in jail.
“Sometimes even if justice is served and the perpetrator is jailed for life, a life that was lost cannot be undone,” she said.
She noted with concern that Murang’a County is ranked second in the country by the number of cases of GBV saying that they affect both men and women hence the need for concerted effort towards ending GBV.
The legislator observed that since a majority of GBV cases happened at home, it is impossible for the police to deal with many of the cases until it is too late.
“Even as we talk about violence against women and girls we must acknowledge that men too are victims of GBV,” she said.
“This violence is happening in homes, often behind closed doors, the police may not be able to protect everyone,” Maina added.
The Woman Rep called upon members of the community to support the victims as they tried to resolve their differences or when they decide to leave the relationships.
“We need all the stakeholders to counsel and guide both men and women in strenuous relationships so that those disputes that can be resolved, are resolved and when they cannot be resolved, the people involved can part ways amicably,” she said.
She called upon all members of the society to come together and encourage each other to address their grievances without turning to violence.
The victim, 47-year-old Grace Wanja, sustained serious burns after her boyfriend doused her with a fuel suspected to have been petrol and set her ablaze on the morning of January 8, this year following a quarrel over food. The lover had demanded for food at dawn but turned violent when told he hadn’t provided any supplies.
Wanja had been admitted at Kenyatta National Hospital where she was receiving treatment until her death on January 15th. The suspect is yet to be arrested and charged for the arson incident.
By Purity Mugo