Today, the 24th of March, marks the International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and the Dignity of Victims.
This day is a solemn reminder of the need to honour victims of systemic abuse and to reaffirm governments’ duty to uphold the right to truth through effective investigations, remedies, and reparations.
This year, as gender-based violence reaches alarming levels in the country, it is more critical than ever that Kenya honours victims of sexual violence, recognizing their resilience and the urgent need for justice and support.
For survivors, justice is not only about punishing perpetrators but also about reparations—a fundamental pathway to healing that restores dignity acknowledges harm and ensures non-repetition of violations.
According to the 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), 16.0% of women aged 15–49 years reported experiencing sexual violence.
Sexual violence leaves deep physical, psychological, social, and economic wounds.
Reparations must include access to long-term psychological care to help survivors heal and reclaim their lives.
In conflict situations, sexual violence is often used as a tactic to oppress communities and silence voices.
For instance, during Kenya’s 2007–2008 post-election violence (PEV), widespread cases of sexual violence were documented.
The Commission of Inquiry into Post-Election Violence (CIPEV), also known as the Waki Commission, identified at least 900 cases of sexual violence perpetrated by security forces, militia groups, and civilians against women, men, boys, and girls.
These numbers, however, fail to capture the full scale of the atrocities, as many survivors did not report their experiences due to fear, stigma, or lack of access to justice.
The Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) of Kenya, established to investigate gross human rights violations between 1963 and 2008, also documented extensive cases of sexual violence.
The commission recommended a comprehensive reparations program that included medical and psychological support for survivors. However, these recommendations remain largely unimplemented.
For many survivors, the path to justice has been characterized by institutional neglect, systemic delays, and constant re-traumatization.
Consider the case of a woman from Kibera: In December 2007, looters broke into a shop adjacent to her house. Five of them forced their way in, and as her son slept in the next room, two men grabbed her by the neck and stripped her.
One threatened to kill her if she screamed. Four men raped her in succession while the fifth looted her home.
The next day, with help from her son and a neighbour, she sought treatment at Mbagathi District Hospital.
When her husband returned weeks later, he accused her of conspiring to arrange the rape and blamed her for the loss of household goods. He left and, apart from one brief return, never came back.
She initially reported the crime to the police but, discouraged by other survivors' experiences of neglect, she never followed up. Without her husband’s support, she now struggles to provide for her children.
To this day, she and her son suffer profound psychological trauma. While the Kenyan government acknowledged PEV survivors and provided reparations to internally displaced survivors, sexual violence survivors were denied similar recognition.
This glaring injustice continues to erode trust in the legal system and reinforce cycles of trauma.
In 2015, then-President Uhuru Kenyatta announced a Sh10 billion reparations fund to support victims of historical injustices, including survivors of sexual violence. Nearly a decade later, this fund remains unimplemented.
The government must act. In 2020, the High Court ordered the state to compensate four victims of election-related sexual violence.
Nearly, five years later, these women remain in limbo, awaiting the justice they were promised.
The state’s failure to enforce such judgements demonstrates an alarming disregard for the rights of survivors.
Recent cases highlight the disparity in Kenya’s commitment to reparations.
4,105 Lamu fisherfolk affected by the LAPSSET corridor project received Sh1.7 billion in compensation six years after a court ruling in their favour.
This proves that Kenya’s legal framework can deliver justice.
So why have PEV sexual violence survivors been left behind?
On this day set to guarantee the dignity of victims, we call on the government to respect court judgements and provide long-overdue compensation to survivors of post-election sexual violence.
Dorcas Gitonga - Program Officer Physicians for Human Rights
