Activists march through the Central Business District of Nairobi on Jan. 27 at a demonstration calling for government action to address the murders of young women.Activists march through the Central Business District of Nairobi on Jan. 27 at a demonstration calling for government action to address the murders of young women.Hashtags like #WeAreNotSafe, #StopKillingWomen and #EndFemicideKE are trending in Kenya.
According to data compiled by activist groups, 30 women were murdered in Kenya in January. Public protests have called on the government to take steps to address gender-based violence and effectively prosecute perpetrators.According to data compiled by activist groups, 30 women were murdered in Kenya in January. Public protests have called on the government to take steps to address gender-based violence and effectively prosecute perpetrators.
According to the United Nations:"Gender-related killings are the most brutal and extreme manifestation of violence against women and girls.as an intentional killing with a gender-related motivation, femicide may be driven by stereotyped gender roles, discrimination towards women and girls, unequal power relations between women and men, or harmful social norms."
"The fact that there is legislation on gender-based violence and femicide is a first step that needs to happen," says, the lead for the gender-based violence project at the Wilson Center, a D.C-based think tank."But it's insufficient. It needs to come accompanied with government training for the health and legal sector for best practices on how to prevent and assess the crime.
"This legislation must provide explicit definitions of violence against women and femicide, ensure the inclusion of the crimes of violence against women and femicide into Kenya's Penal Code, and impose severe penalties for perpetrators," the statement reads. While the first high-profile murder case occurred on January 3, it wasn't until the march on January 27 that Passaris addressed the issue publicly. But when she attended the demonstration in Nairobi, she was whisked away by her security guards as crowds booed and chanted,"Where were you? What did you do?"