Lucy Simiu works at the Health Rights Advocacy Forum
(Kenya Human Rights Commission)
Could you highlight some of your successes in undertaking SAN! GDP activities in the past year? HERAF has been successful in conducting SAN! GDP activities through legal aid clinics and community dialogue forums.
What are the legal aid clinics? KHRC holds them as part of their regular activities. They involve providing needy clients with free legal counsel. Clients are referred to institutions that can take up the matter to court for redress such as FIDA, CRADLE, Kituo Cha Sheria and legal firms offering free legal services.
How do the GDP activities tie into what KHRC is already doing then? The GDP activities focus on the clients who present with HIV and gender related issues, and include referrals for additional services, including counselling to overcome traumatic experiences.
How many women have you helped? As part of the GDP activities, 43 cases involving women were handled. But we also handled 15 cases involving men! The women presented with gender violence and partners’ risk behaviours that made them vulnerable to HIV infection. The remaining female clients presented with cases of land ownership/property rights, child support and financial/economic difficulties as a result of injustices meted out to them. The male clients reported cases of marital dispute and cases of violence against their partners.
How would characterize the most common problems? Cases mostly included gender based violence, land ownership/property rights, child support and economic/financial difficulties as a result of various injustices.
What have you being doing at the community level? The Project collaborated with other women’s organizations and Kenyatta National Hospital to provide legal aid, counseling and VCT services to women and girls in Korogocho slums, Nairobi, on March 8th 2008, International Women’s Day. Over 200 women attended the function which was supported by Amnesty International – Kenya. Cases presented for further legal redress included rape, incest, property ownership defraud, gender based violence and issues on HIV treatment, care and support.
Have you done more intensive work at the community level? Yes, we also have the community dialogue forums I mentioned earlier. They were created with the objective to inform, educate and create awareness to the community on human rights, HIV/AIDS and the empowerment of women. While the legal aid clinic activities are part of what HERAF/KHRC does at the individual level, the forums are meant to intervene more deeply at the community level than, say, a campaign.
KHRC conducted four forums, a community forum on PMTCT, one for people with disabilities, another for the Ngong community; and one for people in Machakos. The PMTCT forum was held in Sagana, Central Province with a target of over 200 women on the PMTCT programme. During the forum the importance of PMTCT in preventing new infections was discussed including initiating and supporting the PMTCT programme in all district hospitals in the region, mobilizing pregnant mothers to attend pre- and post-natal clinics, providing formula feeding, educating parents on the importance of PMTCT and the challenges that hinder the participation of HIV positive mothers in PMTCT.
The forum for people with disabilities was held in Nyeri, Othaya, district on 3rd December 2007. The aim of this community forum was to provide people living with disabilities with an opportunity to discuss disability and HIV and AIDS, facilitate access to free medical check up, treatment and drugs. In addition the forum provided the community with an opportunity to access VCT services, legal counsel and referrals for further redress. Over 150 persons with disabilities attended the forum.
The community dialogue forum in Ngong was held in Ngong, Kajiado district, with a target of 40 participants drawn from the community. Participants included community leaders including women group leaders such as Maendeleo ya Wanawake, youth group leaders, teachers, religious leaders, NGOs/CBOs, organizations of PLWHA and respected community elders. Some of the negative economic, social, religious and cultural practices that make women and girls vulnerable to HIV/AIDS included the patriarchal nature of society, polygamy, female genital mutilation, wife inheritance and bride price/dowry were discussed. Discussions were also held on community based strategies that can be instrumental in reducing human rights violations among women and girls and their vulnerability to HIV infection. A similar dialogue session was held in Machakos town with 52 participants of similar backgrounds. Issues addressed additionally included poverty, belief in witchcraft and sorcery, rituals of infertility and death, and patriarchal society.
What challenges have you faced while undertaking this work?
- The overwhelming demand for services from clients including counselling and legal services
- Laws and policies in the Country that promote discrimination against women e.g., policies on movement where women still need the permission of spouses in order to travel; property ownership
- The capacity of staff implementing the project is limited, including knowledge, equipment, and human resources
- The involvement of men in the project activities is not as elaborate as it should be
Can you point out two ways in which SAN! GDP activities have had a positive impact on the women and girls participating in your project? The legal aid clinics have provided female clients with an opportunity to openly share the challenges they face based on gender biases, and they have been linked to various organizations that have pursued legal and psycho-emotional services on their behalf.
The community dialogue forums provided women and girls opportunities to share their experiences related to women’s rights, HIV&AIDS and women empowerment. At the PMTCT forum women were able to gain further understanding on the issues mentioned above. Persons with disabilities and especially women were empowered on their rights and on issues of HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. The community dialogue forums in both Ngong and Machakos provided an opportunity for participants to articulate community strategies that will be helpful in combating the negative social, cultural, political and economic perceptions that make women and girls vulnerable to HIV infection.
What impact, if any, has this project had on the overall work in your organization? The Project has played a great role in the overall working in our organization. It has created an avenue for the Organization to reach out to women and girls in various locations informing, educating and advocating on women’s rights, HIV&AIDS and women’s empowerment.
It has also broadened the organization’s scope of operation. The community dialogue forums have especially brought to attention specific issues that infringe on the rights of women and girls in the Country. The issues raised provide a basis for more focused advocacy in the future, which should target laws and policies that continue to discriminate against women and girls, hence making them vulnerable to HIV infection.
The staff’s scope of knowledge on issues of women’s rights, HIV/AIDS and women’s empowerment has been expanded over the project period.
The Project has resulted in increased partnerships with various organizations both at grassroots and national levels; most of which are not part of the GDP coalition and hence the Project had benefited immensely from the various liaisons.
What are some of the lessons learned that you will integrate in your upcoming SAN! GDP-related activities?
- The need to offer psycho-social counseling services alongside legal aid clinics since most clients are lost in the process of referrals; some clients have indicated lack of transport when referred while others have felt the next step in the referral chain is too much of a demand.
- There is need to disseminate information on issues of women’s rights and HIV/AIDS to participants at grassroots levels. This will ensure that all women and girls are empowered enough to speak with one voice on various advocacy issues. This means disseminating information such as the Sexual Offences Act and the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Act in the national language to a larger population in simplified version.
What are the activities you are planning between August and October 2008? We are planning a community dialogue forum in Thika. The Legal Aid Clinic is a continuous process, and will continue to be functional, ensuring that all the needy clients with legal needs are catered for and referred to suitable institutions for further help.
For comments, kindly contact:
Ms. Dommie Yambo-Odotte
Executive Director/Producer
Development Through Media
P.O.Box, 48427
00100 Nairobi, Kenya
Email: dtm@dtmafrica.com
Tel: + (254 20) 241 375
Cell: + (254) 723 382062 (office)
+ (254) 736 648418 (office)
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