Oklahoma missionary found guilty of sexual offences in Kenya

Human Rights Defenders in Kenya have today kickstarted a campaign under the hashtag;  #SetUpSexCrimesUnit, aimed at pushing the government to set up a special unit dedicated to investigating and sexual offenses crimes.

The activists are further calling for the full implementation of POLICARE, a National Police Service (NPS) integrated response to Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) in Kenya.

“This is a call to the Ministry of Interior and Administration to allocate adequate resources towards strengthening capacity of police officers towards prevention and response of sexual violence,” a joint press statement by organizations working in Gender violence reads in part.

Policare is coined from “police” and “cares”,  and is aimed at strengthening the capacity of NPS to prevent and respond to SGBV cases through the establishment of a ONE STOP victim support center that incorporates the synergy of multi agencies such as Forensic investigators, Health providers, Psychologists, DPP representative, a Magistrate on call, Medical-legal, Gender experts, Correctional personnel among others.

CREAW: Kenya police service has made strides in improving service delivery for survivors of sexual violence through the establishment of the POLICARE system. However, something is missing.

Wangu Kanja Foundation:We acknowledge what the @InteriorKE

 under @KindikiKithure has been doing in relation to protecting survivors. However, we want to bring to your attention it’s already 2 years & POLICARE is yet to be implemented. The ministry should work towards scaling it up. #SetUpSexCrimesUnit

@WanjeriNderu: The government set up a Police unit last week for water. For those of us who work closely with survivors of sexual violence and have requested for #SetUpSexCrimesUnit for years, we are wondering when WilliamsRuto will take this seriously too.

Sexual violence has become rampant in the country over the years. According to data from Gender-Based Violence Recovery Centers, one in three Kenyan females has experienced an episode of sexual violence before attaining the age of 18 while between 39% and 47% of Kenyan women experience GBV in their lifetime.