In a bid to fight Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and enhance safeguarding in Kenya’s Sports industry, the Ministry of Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports has unveiled the Gender Protection and Implementation Committee which is tasked with the mandate of developing policies to curb GBV and create a safe working environment for sportswomen and even men.
GBV situation in Kenya sports indeed needs an urgent solution. In athletics alone, the past three years have seen the cruel deaths of four female athletes:
Agnes Tirop who was brutally murdered at her home in Iten in October 2021; Damaris Muthee; Edith Muthoni; and recently Ugandan Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei, who succumbed to burns after being doused with petrol by her former partner.
“I hope you guys know this thing is very serious. I know it is a big problem and I know it in person because some of these ladies have confided in me as a person, it is very emotional and very painful to even narrate their stories. So, this one needs a very urgent solution,” Kipchumba Murkomen, who is the Cabinet Secretary of Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports, said while unveiling the Committee.
“You have the support of the federations and the National Olympics Committee of Kenya being the umbrella body. It is important to take this thing very seriously,” Murkomen added.
The task force comprises an Advisory Board chaired by two-time Olympic silver medallist in the Marathon and two-time marathon world champion Catherine Ndereba, legal experts, and gender advocates.
“I am committed to being the voice of the voiceless, to say that GBV has to end. GBV has to end because we do not want to see the majority of sportsmen and women losing their hard-earned wealth or money,” said Ndereba.
“I do understand what it costs for someone to get something out of sports. It means that you sell your blood and the minute someone gets to snatch something from a sportsperson, it is just like taking a pint of blood from their body. And put it down there.”
Also on the board is professional football player Esse Akida, who plays her football for PAOK in Greece, and the Kenyan women’s national team – Harambee Starlets. She is the only active sports personality on the committee.
“This means big because I am going to be the voice to many as I have always been, I did it in my memoir chained. I am happy that I have gotten this opportunity where I can speak and help other girls who want to be like me but they haven’t just found a chance because of issues like GBV,” said Akida.
“As a woman athlete, I am so ready to serve the nation diligently. I promise the sport and women at large sitawaangusha, we are going to use this opportunity to raise and speak out for ourselves so that we can be safe from GBV, We are putting a stop to it.”
Ndereba knows too well how dire the situation is being a former athlete. She also served on the 2022 Gender, Welfare and Equity in Sports Commission.
The Commission report found out that 76% of team managers and technical managers are men, 80% of federations are run by men 57% of sports persons interviewed admitted to having been subjected to sexual abuse more than 10 times.
The new Committee is tasked with the mandate to fully implement the 2022 report, review and development of policies to curb gender-based violence in sports, the development of a framework for multi-agency collaboration in dealing with gender-based violence in sports and sports organisations and the advancement of mainstreaming in sports and sports organisations.
They will also be required to:
- Facilitate institutional gender analysis and gender audits.
- Provide a safe environment for sportspersons to adequately prepare for and participate in sports competitions, assess gender-related initiatives and evaluate the effectiveness with a view to bettering them.
- Organize workshops and awareness campaigns to sensitize athletes and members of sports organizations about gender-related issues and unconscious bias and facilitate gender mainstreaming in sports.
The committee will be managed by a Secretariat which will be led by the CEO Diana Watila, a human rights activist who has worked with the Police Oversight Authority, Independent Medical Unit and FIDA and currently works with the Public Service in the Ministry Lands, Housing and public works as a director.
“For many years I have been involved in the SGBV space and the situation is actually more scary. One of the things we will focus on as well as giving legal aid is the issue of the life skills so that we train our female athletes, we also train our male athletes because gender goes both ways,” said Watila.
“It is the women who need protection now but also soon will be the men and we hope that we will look at laws and we will also look at the social aspect. We will work with the judiciary, NCAJ has a committee that is reviewing the laws. We’ll also work with the civil society in everything and ensure we take a multi-agency approach in everything that we do.”
According to the 2022 Kenya Bureau of Statistics report, over 40% of women between the ages of 15 and 49 have experienced some form of physical violence while 14% have been subjected to sexual violence. This is very serious. A recent report by the police showed that 97 femicide cases have been recorded in the past three months.
“In conjunction with the Ministry of Interior, we will create a toll-free number which victims to anonymously report the cases in a way that they can really protected,” Murkomen said.
The Committee will be funded by the Sports, Arts and Social Development Fund. CS Kipchumba Murkomen and PS Eng. Peter Tum will oversee the Committee.
“These are not very easy responsibilities. We want a safe haven for female athletes and male athletes if need be. You know that men face violence, you know that it is easy to prey on young people who are men and athletes, progressively that also need to be integrated so that males who also face abuse in sports are protected,” Murkomen reminded the Committee.
Advisory Board
- Catherine Ndereba
- Essie Akida
- Paul Ochieng
- Benjamin Wafula
- Barbra Malowa
- Elizabeth Wangeci Gichuki
- Joyce Kebenei
Secretariat
- Diana Watila
- Catherine Njeri Maina
- Lorna Tanui
- Fardhosa Hassan Boru
- Patricia Arisi
