Kenya

Kenya

40.7% of ever-partnered women in Kenya have experienced physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence in their lifetime; 25.5% in the last year. The 2019 Violence Against Children Survey found that of the 15.6% of women surveyed who experienced childhood sexual violence, nearly two-thirds experienced multiple incidents before age 18. Sexual violence was particularly acute after the 2017 elections where women were raped by policemen or men in uniforms. For survivors seeking care in Kenya, there is a network of Gender Violence Recovery Centers, a Gender Based Violence Recovery Center at Coast Provincial Hospital in Mombasa, and a network of hospitals which received support from Liverpool Care and Treatment (LVCT Health) to incorporate delivery of post-rape care services. The Kenya Ministry of Health has also issued guidelines for post-rape care. Though the will and framework exist, lack of staff training and unavailability of basic equipment such as HIV kits, speculums, and rape kits plague effective delivery of post-rape care.

The landscape for collection and testing forensic DNA is much the same: reality does not match ambitions. Forensic DNA is admissible in Kenyan courts and the police have measures in place to document, collect, and test evidence collected during a post-rape exam. In reality, outdated documentation and mishandling of forensic evidence contribute to low conviction rates and an inability to capture repeat offenders. Additionally, importation of reagents for testing from the U.S. and U.K. is difficult, as is arranging for servicing of the equipment.