Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission’s findings on sexual violence no one is talking about

By Jeckonia Otieno and Faith Ronoh

NAIROBI, KENYA: The recently released Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission ( TJRC) report has content that has largely been ignored as Kenyans concentrate on names of those mentioned.

Chapter Six of Volume Two of the report dwells on sexual violence. The report acknowledges the fact that sexual offences have both physical and psychology effects on victims.

It also underscores the fact that a lot of the time the victims of such offences are women and girls – though men and boys also suffer from the same.

Sexual violence against men is probably not much widespread because they are not usually reported with intensity those against women. Cases against men are similarly under-investigated.

inflicting pain

The UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), to which Kenya is a state party, defines torture as an act in which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person and the pain or suffering did not arise only from, and was not inherent in or incidental to, lawful sanctions.

The report, therefore, notes that sexual violence may involve torture under circumstances under which it is used to obtain information, punish or intimidate or coerce by state official based on discrimination of any kind.

The report notes that more women openly spoke about sexual violence as compared to men. The women did not mind telling their experiences in front of gatherings that were also composed of men, but the men preferred telling similar stories in camera.

One of the hindrances to talk about sexual violations was culture. It noted that it was taboo to talk about sex, leave alone the violence associated with it. It went ahead to cite an example of a girl who was raped in Naivasha during the post-election violence. When she got to Busia County, she could not talk about it because in the Teso culture talk about sex is highly forbidden

The report quotes in part, “She was brought to Busia by a lorry and then when she was taken home, because it is a taboo to talk about rape, she kept quiet. She had been raped and even a bottle was inserted in her private parts. So, she was just rotting in the house.

In Teso, when a child is raped, the issue is not supposed to be talked of, otherwise who will marry her?”

Lack of information has also not helped make matters easier for most women.

Apart from post-election violence, there is also sexual violence during times of peace. The report quotes that marital rape appears to be common with 15 per cent of married women and separated or divorced women reporting having experienced forced sexual intercourse.

Learning institutions were not spared with claims being recorded that there was lots of violence especially on female students who are on teaching practice. One such scenario goes: So, I want to start with sexual harassment. In secondary schools, this has come out more clearly, especially on the female teachers on teaching practice. We sympathise with the girls who come to our schools because you can see men sitting together trying to choose them, as if they are goods in the markets.

They do ‘booking’, saying: “This one is mine and this one is mine.” These children are assaulted, not just by teachers, but even by the university lecturers who supervise them. When he comes to see a student in class, he will tell her: “Let us meet at Westgate so that we talk about the report that I will write.”

Social stigma

Because the girl is desperate and because her parents have paid school fees and she wants to finish her studies and graduate, she has no option but to follow the male lecturer to the hotel. We see this every day and we sympathise with them.

Sexual violence has been found to come with social stigma, sexually transmitted infections including HIV and it also has socio-economic impacts.

Meanwhile, a section of religious leaders express optimism that those named in the TJRC report will clear their names, as political leaders doubt if the report will be implemented.

Bungoma senator and leader of minority in senate Moses Wetangula regretted that recommendations of many other reports in the past have never been implemented.

Wetangula said it is a pity that public funds have in the past been spent in similar commissions yet they are left to pile up in shelves to gather dust and nothing done about it.

“Public funds have always been used on task forces, commissions of inquiry and committees yet no one has the will to implement them. Money was spent on commission on land and clashes, JM report, Robert Ouko and up to date we haven’t seen progress,” said Wetangula.

He noted that part of the TJRC report was a catalogue of other reports that had been released in the past.

However, Wetangula said due process, as provided in the Constitution should prevail on those who have been adversely mentioned in the report.