Kenya’s GBV Helpline
T
he calls of the national helpline for GBV was one of the first signs that all was not well. It was December 2020, about nine months into Kenya’s nationwide measures to contain the spread of COVID-19. After he received a distressing call, Peter*, a tele-counsellor for the national helpline, dispatched an ambulance to a village in Elgeyo Marakwet County. “The caller reported that two young sisters had undergone FGM and both were experiencing excessive bleeding. One of them had fainted,” says Peter.
increase the capacity of the helpline’s database for improved data collection and use. The new database “The pandemic helped raise the captures information on a set alarm on the safety of women of indicators, with the aim of and girls,” says Jane*, the lead strengthening the response to tele-counselor. “It also revealed and prevention of GBV. The the social and economic disaggregated data will better vulnerabilities that expose them inform planning. to violence.
providing security during the rescue operation, the girls received medical attention before being transferred to a local health facility. FGM was outlawed in Kenya a decade ago. The sisters are currently staying in a safe house, where they will receive support to continue with their education. “The FGM practitioner was arrested after further investigations by the area chief. She will not be harming any other girls,” says Peter.
Calls for help rose more than three-fold by December last year, Kenya’s national tollfree helpline number, HAK 1195, where Peter works, had Peter contacted the Kenya Red received more than 6,000 calls Cross Society. With the police from GBV survivors seeking
For seven years she has worked on the team of telecounsellors providing 24 hour services to survivors. This includes psychosocial support and access to services such as health care, shelters, legal aid, police assistance and emergency ambulance rescue. The helpline is operated by a local non-profit organisation, Healthcare Assistance Kenya (HAK), in partnership with the Ministry of Public Service and Gender. UNFPA and UN Women provide technical and financial support and raise public awareness of the helpline to enhance access to GBV services during the COVID-19 crisis. At the height of the lockdown, UNFPA supported HAK to
62
“The data helps us map out the different types of GBV, including the most commonly reported, where they occur, and the ‘people’ most affected,” says UNFPA GBV/Gender Advisor, Caroline Murgor. Shared with the government and other partners of the GBV Technical Working Group, the data has helped quantify the extent of the problem. They are used to design policies and programmes based on evidence. Ending FGM in Kenya by 2022. Kenya has an FGM prevalence of 21%, while the government has committed to eliminating the practice by 2022, trends in the helpline data show that the harmful practice is one of the 63
Survivor Stories
Survivor Stories
using data to tackle the culture of silence and secrecy on FGM and other harmful practices
services. This represents a 360% increase in cases recorded during 2019.
