Gender Based Violence

Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is an integrated interventions in KKCF programming which seeks to involve investees and stakeholders to address GBV and facilitate inclusive capital deployment to ensure equal opportunities for men, women, and youth from refugee and Turkana communities to shape the private sector ecosystem. 

GBV is an umbrella term for any harmful act that is perpetrated against a person’s will and that is based on socially ascribed (i.e., gender) differences between males and females. It includes acts that inflict physical, sexual, or mental harm or suffering, threats of such acts, coercion, and other deprivations of liberty. These acts can occur in public or in private1 and affects 1 in 3 women in their lifetime.2 While women and girls are the primary victims of gender-based violence, its impact extends to families and communities, causing significant harm. 

According to a gender assessment conducted in 2019, Kakuma and Kalobeyei are considered relatively safe for women; however, gender-based violence (GBV) remains a significant challenge within the camp, settlement, and town. Instances of domestic violence, rape, and defilement are reportedly high but often go unreported. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has observed a 20% increase in reported cases of GBV since 2018. However, the true extent of GBV is not fully known or documented, as many cases remain unreported due to a lack of trust in the resolution process and the social stigma associated with reporting rape. Stakeholders attribute this increase in reported cases to factors such as growing confidence in reporting, improved accessibility to counseling centers, and increased awareness about GBV. 

  • Physical: Typical forms of physical violence include beating, strangling, pushing, and the use of weapons which may results in injuries, distress, and health problems, and could even lead to death in certain cases. 
  • Sexual: Any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, unwanted sexual comments, or advances, or acts to traffic, or otherwise directed, against a person’s sexuality using coercion, threats of harm or physical force by any person regardless of their relationship to the victim, in any setting, including but not limited to home and work 
  • Psychological: This involves abusive behaviors that involve physical violence, humiliation, exploitation, intimidation, psychological degradation, verbal aggression, and the infringement of freedom and rights. This form of violence manifests in psychologically abusive tactics like exerting control, employing coercion, engaging in economic violence, and resorting to blackmail. 
  • Economic violence: Acts of control and monitoring of the behaviour of an individual in terms of the use and distribution of money, and the constant threat of denying economic resources. Includes economic blackmail, taking away the money the woman earns so the male partner has an absolute control over the family income. (Men can also suffer from socioeconomic violence if the female partner is the one that has financial power).
  • Abuse of power
  • Poverty: Abuse occurs in all socio-economic groups. Although poverty alone does not cause abuse, poverty related factors such as stress, drug abuse and inadequate resources increases the likelihood of maltreatment.
  • Alcohol and drug abuse: High use of alcohol and drug abuse is associated with increased violence. 
  • Illiteracy: The lower the education level, the higher the likelihood of experiencing gender-based violence
  • Culture: Traditional gender norm that support male superiority and entitlement and that tokerate and justyify violence aginst women.
  • Conflicts: In situations of armed conflirct and dispacement, when community supports and social structures have broken down, women and children face additional risks and are the most vulnerable to gender-based violence. 
  • Technical assistance
Gender Toolkits 
Customized Investees Technical assistance 
Wholesale Technical assistance  
Tracking metrics 
  • Assessments 
GBV capacity building  
Gender Assessments 
Gender action plans 
Gender Audits 
Monitoring and performance 
  • Thoughtful leadership 
Profiling Investees 
Gender Action Plan 
SGBV awareness briefs 
Gender Policy briefs 
Knowledge sharing and learning 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Agency  

 
 
 
 

CONTACTS/TOLL NUMBER 

 
 
 
 

Local Institutions in Turkana West 

  • National police gender desk in Kakuma and Lokichogio 
  • Safe spaces in Kakuma and Lokichogio 
  • Kakuma Sub- County mission hospital 
  • Public prosecutor  
  • The administration-Chiefs  

Members of the Gender-Sector Working Group 

 
 
 
 

National GBV hotline 

 
 

1195 

 
 
 
 

Counselling hotline 

 
 

1190 

 
 
 
 

UNHCR toll-free number 

 
 

1517 

 
 
 
 

Danish Refugee Council  

 
 

0800720309 

 
 
 
 

Tele counselling AMANI counselling Center 

 
 

00800-720600 

 
 
 
 

Childline  

 
 

1196 

 
 
 
 

LVCT toll-free number 

 
 

0800720121