Rape fears make life hell for girls and women at refugee camps in Kenya

22 March 2008 in Africa, Rape and Sexual Assault

Two weeks after President Kibaki and ODM leader Raila Odinga signed the power-sharing deal to end the post-election violence, displaced people at the camps are yet to know peace. The women and girls, most of whom suffered sexual or gender-based attacks even before arriving at the camps, are still at great risk.

The fact that Parliament is in session and that PNU and ODM seem to be fine-tuning the deal does not mean that all is well for the displaced.

Incidents of rape and sexual exploitation abound as desperation sets in at the camps, note local and internal NGOs in a report.

The rapid assessment response report released during a workshop in Nairobi this week, says that not only are the victims attacked by men from rival communities, but there are claims that security personnel and humanitarian workers are also involved.

Threats such as “If you do not move out, we shall rape the women” by attackers at Timboroa, as revealed by a rape victim at the local camp, become real as some women are sexually attacked, while others scamper to safer areas.

Ironically, the camps are increasingly becoming dangerous to women. As at the end of last month, Red Cross statistics show that a number camps are still fully operational, but with many in need of security and medical attention, besides food and shelter.

Some 292 camps are still intact, with 145 in the South Rift and 62 in the North, 57 in Nyanza and Western provinces, 19 in Central and nine in Nairobi. However, as many are said to be wrapping up operations on a daily basis so are the figures changing.

For women and girls in need of safety at the settlements, the risk of sexual violence is such that humanitarian organisations are worried. “There are many women and children who have been molested and raped,” Ms June Koinange, the coordinator of psychosocial support of the Kenya Red Cross, and a member of the GBV, a rapid assessment cluster team, said at the workshop. “Many are yet to even speak out about their experiences as they struggle to survive.

“The attacks have been coming from everywhere, including the camps themselves, where security is lacking and the residents are desperate for basic needs like food and shelter,” she noted. “There is urgent need to protect the people in the camps or we shall be facing an even worse crisis because matters of safety in sexual crimes do not apply here.”

In Nairobi, most adolescent girls in focus groups in slums such as Kibera and Kawangware say they know someone who has been raped.

The report notes that sexual violence is also on the rise among women seeking sanctuary in places like Tigoni, more than 25km outside Nairobi.

Some of the attacks are carried out by gangs of men who commit other atrocities.

Similar attacks are also said to be happening in areas like Burnt Forest. Women express fears of sexual violence because of makeshift sleeping arrangements at the sites, where males and females (not of the same family) are forced to share tents at night.

According to the report, they also voice concern over what they call lack of regulation, making it easy for men from the outside the camps to enter unchecked by the officials.

And since rape and sexual exploitation are never a priority in the conflict management, many victims remain silent.

At Burnt Forest, for instance, the women have suggested to the rapid assessment team that it is highly unlikely for a victim to report an incident, arguing that this is not viewed as a priority. “In a crisis like this, your first thought is to care for your children and settle down; you don’t even think of reporting… you are trying to figure out how to live,” says the report.

In Eldoret, a female camp management representative tells of significant numbers of attacks on women from Kapsabet and Eldoret. But when they reported the raids, they were told by the Kapsabet police: “This is an emergency situation, and this is not the time to think about these issues.”

Sexual exploitation is also a major concern at the camps, with humanitarian workers reporting cases in which women and girls exchange sex for basic resources such as food, sanitary towels and transport.

As the healing begins these concerns have hardly been dealt with effectively enough, the study found out. This implies that a large number of the displaced and those affected directly by the violence suffer immeasurable trauma and mental disturbance.

The crisis poses a challenge to even the security personnel who man the camps, with claims of sexual abuse by some humanitarian personnel — and even some of them. Ms Mendy Marsh, a coordinator with the Christian Children’s Fund and international GBV consultant, confirmed incidents of sexual assault by security personnel.

“We have encountered several cases, especially at various camps in Nairobi and its environs, where some security personnel and humanitarian staff are said to have solicited sex in exchange for food and shelter,” she said.

Lack of crucial medical emergency interventions in cases of sexual assault, such as the accessibility of the post-exposure prophylaxis, or emergency treatment given to rape victims as a preventive measure against HIV and Aids, is another major challenge.

The report says that the lives of many women and girls at the risk of contracting HIV and Aids can be saved with the provision of this treatment within 72 hours of attack.

Another challenge is lack of training for the humanitarian staff to enable them to effectively handle victims. “It has been difficult collecting statistics as sexual violence is so sensitive and stigmatised. Many are the victims who suffer in silence,” said Ms Jeane Ward, a GBV consultant.

“The criminal justice system has also let the girls and women down because they are yet to take these matters seriously,” adds Ms Koinange.

She continued: “Thus, the Government and humanitarian organisations need to move with speed to address this added menace to Kenyans already in distress. It is true that sexual violence existed long before the post-election violence erupted. However, the situation is more magnified now as all the support systems to prevent the violence collapsed especially in the rural areas, medical services have been strained, psycho-social care, legal support and police protection are a major challenge. This crisis is therefore an opportunity to recognise the many gaps that have dogged women and girls and seeks to initiate lasting solutions. We need to involve the whole community. We need to change a people’s attitude so as to be able to change the whole community. We need the Government to think beyond the resettlements and focus on how the aggrieved IDPs who have probably lost everything are able to go back to the very same places, very same areas where they were attacked. We need to lobby for the concerted efforts of all stakeholders to take this matter seriously.”

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