Meru County Commissioner Jacob Ouma has flagged off a walk meant to mark the beginning of 16 days of activism against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) which has been rampant in the county in the recent past.
Speaking at the County Headquarters where the walk started Monday, Mr Ouma underscored the need for concerted efforts among all the stakeholders in the region to wipe out the menace that has left the county with a bad reputation.
“The battle against GBV cannot be left to a few individuals, the police, or even local administrators only because we cannot be everywhere. We need to get information about these acts from the remotest part of this county and I assure you that we will deal without any mercy,” said Mr Ouma.
He noted that the number of reported cases in the County was alarming and urgent action was necessary to curb the vice.
According to a report released in July last year, Meru County was ranked third nationally in terms of Gender-based violence at 38 percent.
He called on stakeholders to create awareness of the long-term effects of Gender-Based Violence since victims may suffer the trauma for the rest of their lives.
“Let us all work to ensure that these groups are protected and most importantly join hands in addressing the root cause of these violent acts,” said Mr Ouma.
County Director of Health Dr Koome Muthuri said the event was long overdue since issues pertaining to GBV are quite challenging.
He emphasised to end this vice; it will take the effort of every resident without leaving the burden to a few individuals.
“As the health department, we have decided to take the lead in this war because we are the ones who offer part of the care services to survivors. We wish to partner with all of us to clean ourselves out of the GBV challenge,” said Dr Koome.
GBV County Coordinator Judy Kawira said the event was very significant considering that on Sunday night, she was handling a case of a 12-year-old girl who was sent by her grandmother to the shop but fell in the hands of a man who sexually molested her and she is currently in hospital after undergoing a surgery.
“We want to get out and tell our people that is illegal to sexually molest our young girls and mothers. It is even unfortunate that even men are being molested, for instance, a case of a 52-year-old man who was sodomised and his property stolen,” said Ms Kawira.
She added: “It takes a village to end GBV and as a community, if we purpose to put this to an end, it will be good for us. These vices are going on because we are pretending that they are not happening.”
This year’s theme is; Invest to prevent violence against women and girls.
By Dickson Mwiti