Gender-Based Violence Among Learners in the Coastal Region of Kenya: Voices from the Local Administration

Abstract

The incidence of gender-based violence (GBV) against learners has been on the increase, particularly since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is important to explore GBV from local administrators especially because it is rooted within communities and in households. Documented literature highlights the difficulty of obtaining data on child marriages and teenage pregnancies as a form of GBV, making it difficult to institute follow-up mechanisms to bring the victims back to school. This is because, among other reasons, members of some households may conceal information during surveys or interviews. In other cases, data on GBV remains scanty and inaccessible in some cultural settings, particularly if it involves sexual abuse, child, and early marriage. This paper explores the role of the local administration in the mitigation of gender-based (GBV) in the coastal region of Kenya. Purposeful sampling was used to select Tana River and Kilifi Counties. In-depth interviews with fourteen local administration chiefs selected randomly were conducted. The survey reveals the in-depth role of the chiefs and that ending GBV is not a one-stop step. It is a process that requires several stakeholders to come together and work as one coordinated and organized group. Well-coordinated and timely interventions are needed to complement the work of the local chiefs and focus progressively on the referral mechanism that needs to be redefined and strengthened.