Nairobi, Kenya -- The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) is calling for zero tolerance for all sexual violence against women, and urging Kenyans and the international community to condemn in the strongest possible terms the recent spike in rape incidents in Kenya that has seen young girls to elderly women being brutally assaulted. Only last Thursday, Kenyans watched with horror the unfolding news of an 80-year old grandmother who was violently robbed, raped and left for dead. 

Current statistics indicate that a Kenyan woman is raped every 30 minutes. UNIFEM and its partners are urging the Kenyan government, which is a signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), to take a strong stand on addressing the scale of sexual violence in the country, and to urgently strengthen its legal support services to violence survivors. The call comes as Kenya’s Parliament is deliberating the passage of the Sexual Offences Bill. 

“Every woman’s life and dignity needs to be valued and protected,” said Nyaradzai Gumbonzvanda, regional programme director for UNIFEM in the East and Horn of Africa. “Women are urging the Kenyan Parliament to expedite passage of the Sexual Offences Bill. We can no longer afford to brush aside the issue of rape and impunity for sexual offences -- it is time for government, community and religious organisations to take concrete action to end violence against women.” 

A public forum on the rising tide of violence against women in Kenya will be held tomorrow, 6 April 2006, from 9am-12pm, at the Intercontinental Hotel. Participants and speakers include government officials, and representatives of a wide cross-section of women’s rights organisations. 

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