A new report by data firm Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler (KPMG) has painted a drab picture on the prevalence of gender-based violence (GBV) in the country.
The report titled Workplace Impacts of Domestic Violence and Abuse, which was made public on November 25, 2019, highlighted that approximately 26 per cent of women in the country have experienced physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence (IPV) in the last 12 months and over their lifetime.
The report warns that President Uhuru Kenyatta's commitment to end the gender-based violence (GBV) and female genital mutilation (FGM) scourge in the country may be derailed if enough effort is not made to end the menace.
President Kenyatta, speaking at the United Nations International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme on November 12, 2019, had stated that in the national action plan to be implemented over the next decade, he aimed at eradicating (FGM) by 2022 in addition to eradicating all forms of gender-based violence and harmful practices by 2030.
“I would like to restate my personal commitment and that of the Government of Kenya to providing the leadership necessary to ensure that this practice ends within this generation,” the president had vowed.
The report by KPMG, however, spelled doom to the commitment by the president, expressing the notion that the data presented might be an underrepresentation of the actual situation.
"We note that the UN data relates specifically to intimate partner violence. This is only a subset of the wider definition of domestic violence and abuse, which also captures, for example, domestic violence and abuse from a family member. As a result, it is likely that the data above may underestimate domestic violence and abuse based on this broader definition," the report stated.
The report further stated that the violence meted on women was having a tough impact on the economy, with the country reportedly losing close to Ksh5 billion per year as a result of work absences related to domestic abuse.
The report further indicated that more than one third (38 per cent) of victims surveyed responded that they suffered from reduced productivity, and 22 per cent replied they sometimes stopped going to work and/or would take days off.
This report was released as a precursor to the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, which was commemorated on Monday, November 25.
In the month of November 2019 for example, the country has witnessed two cases of women on the receiving end, one of them a supermarket attendant at Eastmatt, Kajiado branch, and another a female security guard getting assaulted by a motorist after a disagreement.
