Stop Violence Against Women
Rape in Kenya
Violence against women is widespread in Kenya. Every day, women are physically and sexually abused. Rape occurs in all social and ethnic groups. It is a crime that shocks and traumatizes the victim and reflects the acceptance of discrimination against women in Kenyan society. Yet it is largely suffered in silence. In its new report, Kenya: Rape - the invisible crime, Amnesty International examines violence against women, particularly sexual violence and rape committed by both security officials and by private individuals. It explores how women subjected to violence are not adequately protected by the law in Kenya and why those who commit violence against women continue to operate with impunity.
Victims of rape often face insurmountable obstacles in trying to bring the perpetrators to justice. Many women who have suffered rape or other forms of abuse are too intimidated by cultural attitudes and state inaction to seek redress. To do so can lead to hostility towards the victim from her family, the community and the police. Those who do seek justice are confronted by a system that ignored, denies and even condones violence against women and protects the perpetrators, whether they are state officials or private individuals.
Discrimination against women in Kenya
Kenya is a patriarchal society, where the husband in the head of the household and women often have little influence in decisions affecting their lives. This extends to sexual relations, where women are frequently unable to refuse to have sex with their husbands. In Kenya, customarily, women do not own property or the land they work, which causes them economic hardship and places them in positions of dependence. Each ethnic group in Kenya has its own identity, realized through its culture and traditions. Not all customs and traditions discriminate against women's human rights. Certain practices contribute towards promoting women's human rights. AI does not campaign against these cultural values for it is these very values that contribute to distinct and vibrant communities. However, AI is concerned that some forms of violence against women have become entrenched. For example, wife inheritance, bride price (in which a man's family pays the wife's family thereby giving men the idea they own their wife), forced marriage and female genital mutilation are institutionalized though culture. The state does not ensure women are protected against the acts of violence that these practices either embody or support. Forced marriage is customary in some communities. On the death of her husband, a woman is "inherited" by his brother or close relatives. Her consent to this new marriage or to sexual relations with her new "husband" is not sought. Gender-based violence not only exposes women to sexually transmitted diseases but also to the risk of acquiring HIV/AIDS.
Sexual violence by law enforcement officials
AI has received many allegations reported in Kenyan media of rape of women detainees by police officers. Torture, including rape of women by police, prison and other officials is reportedly widespread. Amnesty International believes that rape and sexual abuse of women in custody always constitutes torture and ill-treatment. The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture in his 1999 report on Kenya, chronicled at least 33 cases of torture committed against women by law enforcement officials. Torture is prohibited under Kenyan law, yet these violent acts are not investigated and perpetrators are not punished. Mary Muragwa, aged 45, from Bungoma District to AI she was raped by police officers who were looking for her husband, David Muragwa, a former teacher who was involved in local politics. Police visited her home in 1995 looking for her husband and not finding him, hit her and broke her arm, then carried her into the house where two of the officers raped her. She was detained without charge or trial at Bungoma police station for four months. She was released into house arrest for the next year. Doctors have told her she will not be able to have more children because of the injuries sustained as a result of this torture.
Sexual violence by private individuals
Women's organizations in Kenya agree that "domestic violence is the most commonly hidden form of violence, and wife beating is considered a private affair of the home." Many of the women's organizations and some of the victims told AI that some forms of domestic violence are perceived as "routine chastisement" and victims do not report it until it becomes extreme. Many women are not aware that forced sex in the home is rape and they will not mention this even when seeking medical attention for other injuries. Marital rape is not a recognized crime in Kenya nor is many other forms of domestic violence. Organizations told AI that reports of this crime to police are likely to be categorized not as rape but as the lesser offense of assault. Women avoid the police not only because they rightly expect the police to minimize or ignore domestic violence, but also because they fear they husbands can bribe police to withdraw the case. Peres, aged 34, from Nairobi, was reportedly beaten and raped by her husband in 1989 when he wanted to marry a second wife. She reported the beatings to the police but her husband allegedly paid the police to withdraw the case. She told AI when her husband comes home after she has been to the police, he beats her against and forces sex upon her, even when the children are present. It took her three days to obtain a P3 form, the medical form which must be filled out by police and then by a doctor who examines the victim. Many women reporting violence tell AI that P3 forms are not filled out by police nor made available to doctors so that investigations cannot become official.
Lack of access to police and legal protection
For an investigation to be started, a woman victim has to report the crime to the police. Most police officers regard violence within the home as a domestic matter and uphold discriminatory attitudes toward women. Special provisions for women has not been established in any police station in Kenya despite commitments made by both the Attorney General and the Police Commissioner in August 2000 to introduce "rape desks" at police stations and to make the police more responsive to gender-based crimes. Doctors interviewed by AI suggest that better access to a P3 form would enable the doctor to see the victim and record medical evidence as soon as possible. Without such evidence, a victim cannot prove she did not consent and therefore that she was raped. Many doctors are said to be reluctant to examine women victims or fill in a P3 form especially when a police officer is the perpetrator.
Local organizations report that few victims of marital rape pursue a legal case against their husbands, mainly because of economic dependence on their husband, high legal costs, fear of losing custody of the children and of being ostracized by family and community, as well as lack of confidence in the police and judicial system to protect them. Access to justice particularly for marital rape is extremely difficult. It is rare for a case to reach the courts, and the perpetrator is more commonly charged with assault than rape. Often courts say that the woman provoked the violence and treat it lightly.
There are very few avenues for redress. The government is not equipped to provide services to victims when they are most urgently needed. There is no governmental housing for women fleeing violence. A small number of women's organizations have established centers providing counseling or therapy, but their resources are offered only on a temporary basis. The Women's Rights Awareness Program(WRAP) now houses approximately 60 women and children in their shelter, and provides counseling, medical and legal aid, but the women can only stay there temporarily. The biggest problem is that because of women's economic disempowerment, many victims still return to their husbands.
