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Press Release

On this #DarkValentines Day, the Government of Kenya Must End the Femicide Surge

As more cases of femicide are being reported in Kenya, the government must take concrete steps to stop this surge of gender-based violence and bring the perpetrators to justice, said Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) today.     At least 500 women have been murdered in Kenya since 2016. In January 2024 alone, over 10 […]

February 13, 2024
Statements

Coalition Against Sexual Violence Calls on Government of Kenya to Act to End Femicide and Violence Against Women in Kenya

The Coalition Against Sexual Violence (CASV) calls on the Government of Kenya to prevent and ensure accountability for femicide by training and supporting the National Police Service and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution to investigate and prosecute cases of gender-based violence. At least 10 women have been killed in the first month […]

January 29, 2024
Sexual Violence
Press Release

Survivors of Post-Election Sexual Violence in Kenya Call on Attorney General to Deliver Reparations Awarded in Landmark 2020 Court Decision 

Survivors and civil society organizations today called on the Attorney General of Kenya to immediately enforce a 2020 High Court decision that found the government of Kenya liable for its failure to investigate and prosecute sexual violence in the wake of contested 2007–2008 presidential elections in the country. Speaking in Nairobi, eight survivors of the […]

November 17, 2023
Sexual Violence
Press Release

Kenyan Officials Must Protect the Right to Protest, Prevent Sexual Violence Amid Unrest: PHR

With mounting unrest across the country, Kenyan officials should immediately deescalate tensions and abide by international human rights law, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) said today. PHR is gravely concerned about excessive force deployed by security forces against demonstrators over recent months as well as the potential for an increase in sexual violence.   “Under both […]

July 19, 2023
Excessive Force, Sexual Violence
Report

Mobilizing Health Workers to Safeguard Rights

For more than 35 years, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) has worked at the intersection of medicine, science, and law to end human suffering, save lives, and secure justice and universal human rights for all. Read about our impact in our 2022 Annual Report.

June 22, 2023
Asylum, Attacks on Health Care, Mass Atrocities, Persecution of Health Workers, Reproductive Justice, Sexual Violence, Torture

Voicing Our Plight

Executive Summary Background Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) is a global health crisis. More than 730 million women worldwide have experienced physical or sexual violence at least once in their lifetime.[1] In Kenya, the Demographic and Health Survey of 2022 showed that 34 percent of women and girls[2] surveyed reported having experienced physical violence at […]

June 6, 2023
Sexual Violence
Press Release

New Assessment: Survivors of Sexual Violence in Kenya Have Inadequate Access to Mental Health Services

NAIROBI– Survivors of sexual violence in Kenya face barriers to quality mental health services in their communities, according to a new assessment co-published today by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and the Survivors of Sexual Violence in Kenya Network (SSVKenya), which is convened by the Wangu Kanja Foundation.   The new assessment, Voicing Our Plight: […]

June 5, 2023
Sexual Violence
Other

Survivors’ Experiences of Accessing Mental Health Services following Sexual and Gender-based Violence in Kenya

This study sought to understand the experiences of survivors of sexual violence in Kenya as they accessed mental health services. Survivors’ experiences are vital to document and have important advocacy and policy implications related to the provision of mental health services and survivor-centered care within their communities. Context Sexual violence affects millions of people of […]

February 24, 2023
Sexual Violence
Press Release

Government of Kenya Must Avoid Repeat of History and Prevent Electoral Violence: PHR

Ahead of Kenya’s general election on August 9, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) warns of potential election-related violence, including sexual violence, and calls on the Government of Kenya to proactively enact policies and plans to both prevent and respond to any violence perpetrated around the upcoming vote.   At least since the 1990s, elections in Kenya […]

July 25, 2022
Sexual Violence
Statements

11 Human Rights Organizations Laud “Landmark” New Mental Health Amendment Act in Kenya

Today 11human rights organizations that champion the right to be free from all forms of sexual and gender-based violence welcomed the signing into law of the Mental Health (Amendment) Act, 2022 by H.E. President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya. This comes after the Kenyan Senate unanimously passed the Mental Health Amendment Bill on June 21, 2022. […]

July 1, 2022
Sexual Violence

Kenya

Some 47 percent of Kenyan women and girls aged 15-49 have suffered physical or sexual violence, a figure that rises even higher in periods of conflict and upheaval. During widespread violence that ripped through Kenya in the wake of 2007 elections, at least 900 women, girls, men, and boys suffered sexual and gender-based violence. Very […]

January 1, 2022
Press Release

Survivors of Post-Election Sexual Violence in Kenya Appeal Elements of Recent Ruling, Seek Justice and Redress for All Survivor-Petitioners

NAIROBI — A group of survivors of 2007-2008 election-related sexual violence in Kenya and civil society organizations today filed a partial appeal at the Court of Appeal at Nairobi, asserting that a High Court decision delivered on December 10, 2020 failed to recognize the Government of Kenya’s responsibility to survivors previously denied redress for the state’s failure to […]

November 11, 2021
Sexual Violence

Justin Nyatete Nyakundi

Justin Nyatete Nyakundi is a senior investigations officer working with Kenya’s Independent Policing Oversight Authority based at the Nakuru Regional Office, where he conducts investigations into crimes committed by members of the National Police Service. He is retired from Kenya’s National Police Service, where he served for 14 years as a police officer and worked […]

August 12, 2021
Sexual Violence

Livingston M. Musumba

Livingston Musumba is a practicing information and communications consultant with more than 30 years of experience in the industry. He has served in various senior positions in both private and public sectors before starting an ICT consulting firm in September 2005.   Musumba has vast experience in implementing and developing solutions in the health care […]

August 12, 2021

Polycarp Kweyu Lutta

Polycarp Kweyu Lutta serves as a gazetted government forensic analyst at the Government Forensic Crime Laboratory in Kenya. He works with forensic investigations requiring DNA and serological analyses of samples as part of technical support to national investigative agencies, including the National Police Service and Directorate of Criminal Investigation Organization as well as human rights […]

August 12, 2021
Sexual Violence
Blog

COVID-19 Vaccine Access in Kenya Illustrates Dire Global Inequity

“It’s been a total nightmare. I’ve called eight different government and private facilities today alone trying to schedule a vaccine appointment for my parents. Each facility has a different set of rules; some even charge for the vaccine – none had available appointments.” That’s how Suzanne Kidenda, program officer for the Physicians for Human Rights […]

June 14, 2021
COVID-19
Blog

Celebrating Women in Health and Human Rights

March is Women’s History Month: 31 days to celebrate the contributions of women throughout the ages. Unfortunately, the stories of too many influential women have been lost to time. In honor of International Women’s Day on March 8 and Women’s History Month, PHR is profiling extraordinary women who have made an impact in the movement […]

March 8, 2021
Press Release

Court Delivers Justice for Several Survivors of Post-Election Sexual Violence in Kenya

NAIROBI — In a landmark judgement, the High Court in Nairobi today ruled in favor of four survivors of post-election sexual violence in Kenya. In Constitutional Petition No. 122 of 2013, the Court found that the Government of Kenya was responsible for a “failure to conduct independent and effective investigations and prosecutions of SGBV [sexual […]

December 10, 2020
Sexual Violence
Blog

A Final Chance at Justice for Survivors of Post-election Sexual Violence in Kenya

Originally published on Citizen Digital On December 10, the High Court in Nairobi is scheduled to finally deliver a decision on Petition 122 of 2013, which seeks to secure justice for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence during the 2007/2008 post-election violence. This is a dramatic development in a case that has languished in the […]

December 7, 2020
Sexual Violence
Blog

Novel Research Methods that Avoid Retraumatizing Survivors

Originally published by Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI). Also available in French and Spanish. Researchers often grapple with a major challenge when researching sexual violence or evaluating programs focused on sexual violence—how to collect information without retraumatizing survivors. Gathering accurate data from survivors of sexual violence is essential to document or develop programs for their […]

December 3, 2020
Rohingya, Sexual Violence
Blog

The Parallel Pandemic – Sexual Violence

Originally published on Devex, November 25, 2020. While infectious diseases – measles, flu, polio, tuberculosis, severe acute respiratory syndrome, malaria, Ebola, HIV/AIDS, COVID-19 – have swept the globe, with the lowest-income communities bearing the brunt of suffering and death, there is one other pandemic that has surpassed and outlasted them all: sexual and gender-based violence, especially domestic […]

November 30, 2020
Blog

Voices from the COVID-19 Pandemic: “Since she started working in the isolation ward, her colleagues have shunned her.”

COVID-19 is on the rise in Kenya, where there have been approximately 12,000 confirmed cases of the disease and 217 deaths. Dr. Angeline Ithondeka is the medical superintendant of Naivasha County Referral Hospital in Nakuru, Kenya, northwest of Nairobi, which is a longtime partner of Physicians for Human Rights. Though Nakuru County has had relatively […]

July 21, 2020
COVID-19
Blog

How to Ensure Election-related Sexual Violence Never Happens Again

Originally published in The Star on January 17, 2020 In the aftermath of the 2007-08 post-election violence, the Commission of Inquiry into the Post-Election Violence (Waki Commission) documented more than 900 sexual violence cases perpetrated by security agents and civilians against women, girls, men and boys. During this tragic period, Kenya saw large-scale bloodshed, mass […]

January 17, 2020
Sexual Violence

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