The Centre for Multiparty Democracy (CMD-Kenya) highlights critical failures in addressing gender-based violence (GBV) in Kenyan politics, urging immediate reforms to the Elections Act and Political Parties Act to prohibit GBV in campaigns and party activities. CMD- Kenya further calls for, GBV compliance a mandatory criterion for political party registration and operation to protect women and ensure a violence-free political space.
Key Points
Key Points
Institutional Failures: Law enforcement, judiciary, and political parties often dismiss GBV as a “private matter” or downplay its impact, leaving survivors unprotected.
Data Gaps: Kenya lacks a centralized system to track GBV cases, with no standardized data collection from police, courts, or hospitals.
Cultural Barriers: CMD-Kenya stresses GBV is a cultural crisis, not just a legal issue, driven by patriarchal norms, toxic masculinity, and trivialization of violence.
Proposed Solutions: CMD-Kenya recommends Amendment to the Power of Mercy Act to explicitly bar presidential pardon for convicts of Sexual and Gender Based violence and femicide, GBV training for officials, specialized courts, a national GBV database, and public reporting on institutional responses.
Conclusion
CMD-Kenya urges the Taskforce to adopt these measures to safeguard Kenya’s democracy, fulfill gender equality mandates, and protect political actors from violence.
Get a copy of the memo https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lN-UWKZodiH4mu1dNfxhFbgpXgwSFCJF/view?usp=sharing
