Women MPs want CJ Koome to establish courts dedicated to GBV cases
By Barack Oduor |
Passaris said that in their meeting with CJKoome, they urged her to ensure that President Ruto allocates Sh1 billion for the creation of the gender-based violence courts.
The Kenya Women Parliamentary Association (KEWOPA) together with sexual and reproductive health rights crusaders have urged Chief Justice Martha Koome to establish courts dedicated to handling gender-based violence cases.
Speaking during the launch of a new report by the Kenya Human Rights Commission on how the media report on sexual and reproductive health rights, Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Pasarris said they have urged Koome to quickly lobby for more funds to have the courts created.
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"We want the Judiciary to create special courts for handling gender-based violence just the same way we have divisions of courts handling specific crimes," said Passaris.
Passaris said that in their meeting with CJKoome, they urged her to ensure that President William Ruto allocates Sh1 billion for the creation of the gender-based violence courts.
In her view, the war against GBV will get a boost when a mechanism for getting real-time data is created.
She said KEWOPA's discussion with the Judiciary involved the possibility of having laws changed to enable gender-based violence cases before courts take specific time to be concluded.
The KEWOPA team was led by Kajiado Woman Representative Leah Sankaire.
Officials of the Kenya Human Rights Commission and other panellists during the launch of the report on how the media report on sexual and reproductive health rights. (Photo: Barack Oduor)
The lawmakers, who are concerned about the increased killing of women in the country, also announced that their meeting with Koome was to strengthen the legal framework on GBV, especially within this significant period of the 16 Days Of Activism against Gender-Based Violence.
The report titled " Who Shapes the Narrative? Media Coverage Analysis of SRHR in Kenya" is a product of research done between October 2023 to June 2024.
The launch of the report comes a few weeks after the Nairobi County government announced it is in the process of building safe houses for victims of gender-based violence in response to the rising cases of femicide across the country.
Nairobi Governor Sakaja Johnson announced that currently, one safe house, funded by the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF), is already operational in Gigiri.
Sakaja said that his administration is developing a comprehensive plan to address the alarming increase in domestic violence cases.
“We are taking a stand to construct a safe house. If you are in a house and you are being abused, don’t stay there because tomorrow you will be murdered,” he said.
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