Effectiveness of SGBV Mitigation and Prevention Programmes in Enhancing Women’s Economic Empowerment

Literature has shown that violence is a daily reality for women and girls across Kenya. According to government data, 45% of women and girls aged 15 to 49 have experienced physical violence and 14%, sexual abuse (Human Rights Watch, 2020). Existing laws and policies indicate that the national government requires every County Government to establish a Gender Violence Recovery Centre or shelter to provide Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) survivors with services necessary for their recovery (NGEC, 2016). This study sets out to evaluate the effectiveness of RRRPs in preventing and responding to SGBV in Nakuru and Makueni Counties. The evaluation will be conducted using samples for SGBV victims exposed to RRRs and those who used alternative support mechanisms. The samples will be collected using snowballing methods (Zikmund, 2003). A modest randomised experimental design is being considered as an additional evaluation procedure.

The study will further test acceptability and efficacy of the Tamar Campaign Model packaged in Reflect Circles in challenging the culture of silence surrounding SGBV among families and communities in Tharaka Nithi County. It aims at generating evidence on what works to effectively respond to and prevent SGBV in communities. The contingency valuation method will be used to test acceptability of Tarmar in communities. At the end of the study, awareness, reporting and effective action against SGBV would be increased by 30 % for WEE in Tharaka Nithi County. The proposal has gone through a series of internal reviews and is currently being externally reviewed.

Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, Yale Economic Growth Centre (YEGC), Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and Institute of Economic Affairs have been identified as key partners while National Gender and Equality Commission, National Crime Research Centre, Coalition on Violence Against Women, Liverpool Voluntary Counselling and Testing (LVCT), Ministry of Health, and other NGOs and CSOs have been identified as key stakeholders.

RESEARCH TEAM