An analysis of reporting of Sexual Violence among female Survivors in Kenya

Abstract

Sexual violence has been on the rise over the years with women being the most affected. In 2014, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics reported that 21% of all the women in Kenya had experienced sexual violence and one in every three women in this situation are not able to access justice. Despite this, the frequency of reporting of sexual violence by survivors is still low. Furthermore, there is a belief that sexual violence has to be committed by someone unknown to the victim or survivor and in a location strange to them. This study sought to analyse the prevalence of reporting of cases of sexual violence, analyse the relationship between perpetrators and female survivors of sexual violence in Kenya and examine the factors affecting the ability of reporting the occurrence of sexual violence by female survivors in Kenya. The study was guided by the radical feminist theory. It used secondary data collected by the Kenya National Bureau Statistics through the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (2014). It used the collation and analysis research design where data collected was analysed using descriptive statistics to answer the research questions. The findings were presented through tables and figures. The findings from data analysis revealed that only 33.9% of survivors of sexual violence report their experiences and that the most common channels of reporting were informal. It also established that most of the perpetrators of sexual violence were known to their survivors. It was also found that older women, those with basic level of education, women with a high economic status and those with no religion were more likely to report the occurrence of sexual violence. Based on the findings, the study recommends that organizations conducting surveys on sexual violence should have provisions for qualitative surveys to explain the figures gathered. There is also need to expedite the development of shelters for survivors of sexual violence and provide basic education for younger women in Kenya to improve the rate of reporting of sexual violence. There is an opportunity for further study on other forms of sexual violence besides intimate partner violence and rape such as sexual violence against older women above the age of 45. There is also an opportunity to conduct further study on the factors that prevent the reporting of sexual violence by survivors of sexual violence.