Kenya’s pledged efforts to end gender-based violence (GBV) by 2026 are faltering, as shelters collapse under budget cuts, key reforms stall, and misreporting of GBV data persists. Survivors, activists, and shelter managers warn that the protection system is failing, leaving women and children vulnerable even as femicide rates rise and digital violence intensifies. Cases like that of Salama, a university student subjected to digitally manipulated sexual images during a leadership campaign, illustrate the growing threat of online GBV, which disproportionately targets women and has worsened with advances in artificial intelligence. Studies indicate that a significant portion of both women and men in Kenya’s higher learning institutions experience online abuse, highlighting the scope of this rapidly evolving issue.
Digital violence extends beyond the online realm, reflecting a continuum of abuse that also occurs in homes, schools, workplaces, and public spaces. Despite recognition by the State Department of Gender, including plans to develop a digital safe space tool for reporting online abuse, Kenya’s broader strategies remain inadequate. Key initiatives under the 2026 GBV elimination plan—such as a government performance indicator for GBV, a Survivors’ Fund, and ratification of ILO Convention 190—have either been abandoned or underfunded. The National Treasury allocated only a fraction of the promised funding for GBV prevention and response, leaving shelters and service providers struggling to support survivors with basic safety, legal aid, and psychological care.
Of the 95 mapped shelters nationwide, only two for men and boys are operational, while most for women operate with insufficient resources. Many shelters cannot sustain skills training or provide adequate meals, clean beds, or secure spaces. Chronic underfunding is compounded by the lack of a legal framework to formally recognise and standardise shelters, leaving service providers vulnerable and the system fragmented. Experts argue that shelters alone cannot ensure meaningful protection; economic empowerment is critical for survivors to rebuild lives and avoid returning to abusive environments, yet opportunities for livelihoods remain limited.
The human cost of these failures is starkly illustrated by cases such as Jane from Busia County, whose daughter was violated, leaving the family dependent on inadequate support structures. Femicide, often recorded merely as murder, masks the scale of gender-based killings and the specific vulnerabilities of women. UN Women and civil society advocates stress the urgent need for accurate data collection and categorisation to address this crisis effectively.
Conflicts between state and non-state actors further threaten survivors’ safety. Documentation procedures, such as the Kenya Police Medical Examination P3 Form, are critical for linking health services with judicial processes, yet inconsistencies in implementation undermine their effectiveness. Without sufficient funding, coordinated policy action, and survivor-centred support, Kenya risks missing its 2026 targets and perpetuating cycles of violence, trauma, and systemic neglect for women and children across the country.
