Eerily familiar January 29, 2008

Graffiti in Kisumu, on the side of a destroyed and looted shop owned by a Kikuyu.

• “Human rights violations against women and children will continue to increase, particularly in conflict-ridden areas of Africa, unless the international community steps up its efforts to combat gender-based violence (GBV), according to UN officials.“

– IRIN NAIROBI, 28 January 2005

• “United Nations officials are saying that the government has failed to protect civilians, including girls who are getting raped at displaced persons camps.”

-NYTimes reporting on Kenya, January 30, 2008

• “For the umpteenth time, we again ask President Kibaki and Orange Democratic Movement leader Mr. Raila Odinga to work for peace, truth, and justice. Kenya has bled enough.”

-The Sunday Standard (Kenya) editorial, January 2008

Rape in Kenya’s Post-election Chaos January 25, 2008

Mathare slum in Nairobi

The sexualized tactic of brutality will not be contained in it’s [DRC’s] heart of darkness…

A new press release issued by UNDP states concern about the increasing reports of sexual violence in Kenya as election violence continues. Excerpt from the release is below:

Hospitals and health organizations in Kenya are pressed to treat the rising number of rape victims. Reports from Nairobi indicate that some hospitals saw the number of rape cases double within days after violence erupted as a result of the disputed presidential election, which took place 27 December 2007. Medical personnel say that for each of the new cases they are treating, there are many more victims who fail to seek help – either because of security reasons or the fear of stigmatization.

While sexual assault against women has always been a consequence of war, in recent decades it has reached epidemic levels. Wherever there is conflict –in Darfur, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kosovo, Liberia– women and girls have been systematically raped. An estimated half a million women were raped during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. In Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, approximately 60,000 women were raped in the war. The scale of violence against women in conflict situations is staggering, yet there is no evidence this epidemic is abating. The early warning signs in Kenya make that all too clear where, like in other conflicts, women and girls are targeted.

other reportings:
BBC News

IRIN News: “she said, noting that in Kenya’s case, it was too early to tell whether the rapes were gratuitous or targeted, although investigations had begun. ”

PlusNews