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Health Workers at the Frontlines of Justice: Confronting the Intergenerational Impact of Sexual Violence in Conflict 

On June 19, the international community marks the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict – a day to honor the strength of survivors and recommit to the pursuit of justice and healing. This year’s theme, “The Intergenerational Impact of Sexual Violence” calls global attention to the profound and enduring harm inflicted […]

June 18, 2025
Report

Document. Empower. Advocate.

Read about the impact of Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) in the United States and around the world in our 2024 Annual Report.

June 10, 2025
Asylum, Attacks on Health Care, Chemical Weapons, Children's Rights, Dual Loyalty, Excessive Force, Mass Atrocities, Persecution of Health Workers, Reproductive Justice, Sexual Violence, Torture, Weapons, When Doctors Harm
Press Release

Kenyan Court Delays Justice for Survivors of Post-Election Sexual Violence  

The Court of Appeal in Nairobi, Kenya today failed survivors of the 2007-2008 post-election sexual violence by delaying the judgement in a landmark court case.   “As the litigation at the High Court and Court of Appeal (Civil Appeal No. E645 of 2021) have been ongoing for more than 12 years, today’s postponement of a scheduled […]

April 11, 2025
Sexual Violence
Press Release

MEDIA ADVISORY: Judgement Expected Friday in Landmark Court Case on Election-Related Sexual Violence in Kenya

The Court of Appeal in Nairobi will deliver its judgment on Civil Appeal No. E645 of 2021, brought by four survivors of election-related sexual violence during the 2007-2008 post-election violence in Kenya. The four survivors were previously denied redress due to the High Court’s failure to recognize government’s responsibility to protect them from election-related sexual […]

April 8, 2025
Sexual Violence

Justice for Survivors of Post-Election Sexual Violence in Kenya

An ongoing court case aims to finally secure justice for the survivors of sexual violence. This high-profile litigation – officially known as Constitutional Petition No. 122 of 2013 – seeks to hold the Kenyan government accountable for sexual violence in the post-election period.

March 4, 2025
Mass Atrocities, Sexual Violence
Press Release

MEDIA ADVISORY: Pivotal Court of Appeal Hearing Tuesday in Landmark Election-Related Sexual Violence Case in Kenya

Survivors of 2007-2008 election-related sexual violence (ERSV) will have their first day in court since 2020, as they appeal a judgement that denied relief for four of the eight survivor-petitioners who experienced ERSV perpetrated by non-state actors  WHAT: Hearing for Civil Appeal No. E645 of 2021: Coalition of Women Against Violence vs. the Attorney General […]

February 2, 2025
Sexual Violence
Blog

Teaching the Tools of Change: How a New Curriculum for Medical Students in Kenya is Advancing Care for Survivors of Gender-based Violence 

The United Nations reports that more than one in three women have experienced physical or sexual violence at some point in their lives. Research shows that these traumatic experiences have both short- and long-term effects on a survivor’s health, making them more likely to seek help from a health care provider. This impact goes beyond […]

December 5, 2024
Press Release

Kenya Law Enforcement Must Avoid Using Dangerous Crowd-Control Weapons Against Protestors: PHR

Kenyan law enforcement must cease their misuse of crowd-control weapons during ongoing protests across the country, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) said today.  “Law enforcement officials who are meant to protect civilians used lethal tactics against protestors and medical personnel trying to help people. Such use of force constitutes a clear violation of human rights,” […]

June 26, 2024
Excessive Force
Report

Evidence for Impact, Advocacy for Justice

“If any of you worry about the issues that are going on in the world as you listen to the news every day and you feel somewhat powerless because the problems, the fractures, are too large and too many, I think you and I can take comfort that PHR is playing its part everywhere in […]

April 16, 2024
Asylum, Attacks on Health Care, Death Investigations, Excessive Force, Mass Atrocities, Reproductive Justice, Sexual Violence, Torture
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

SGBV has profound impacts on survivors’ physical and mental health, and access to mental health care is a major challenge for survivors of sexual violence.

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 11 human 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, […]

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

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