Construction of the first safe house for gender violence survivors is set to be completed in four months. Executive for Education Janet Ouko confirmed the report and said that In the meantime, two interim safe houses have been set up and will be open this month, until a permanent shelter or shelters are ready.
A 76-bed capacity women’s and girl’s shelter has been set up in Kayole. A 20-bed shelter has been set aside for men and boys in Shauri Moyi.
“If a woman has been violated and needs somewhere to rest, the county will provide a place where she can take a breather and figure out their next steps. Nobody solicits violations,” said Ouko.
Increase rate of GBV
The Nairobi Metropolitan Services directed the county to set up a safe house for women. The Education Department said it could take two years to construct. But NMS director general Mohammed Badi said it could be done in four months and further urged the county to convert a few county-owned houses into shelters, saying only a budget for renovation is required.
“In my vocabulary, there is nothing like two years. It should be completed in the next four months and so I’m asking the county to pull up their socks. How many houses does the county have that are lying idle that require very little money to be transformed into a safe house or isolation shelter?” said Badi.
Last year, NMS reported Kenya’s 45% of women and 66 per cent of girls have have faced GBV of some sort. Even men, around 15%, face GBV. Once a safe house is set up, NMS Health director Dr Michael Oluga said support staff will be assigned to help residents.
