PART III Extent and Impact of Post Election Violence - Mars Group ...

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In addition, the Commission heard from other witnesses about unwanted pregnancies, including the cases of two 14 and 16 year old girls who had been raped after which they found themselves doubly burdened. 244 These are a just a few examples of the unbearable and lingering consequences of the post election sexual violence that witnesses were courageous enough to recount and explain to the Commission. These same victims of gang rapes, mutilation, HIV/AIDs, abandonment, psychological trauma, homelessness, loss of property, and violence-induced poverty are in a state of utter misery, feeling isolated and lonely. Some still are in constant contact with this Commission’s psychological counsellor who assisted them when they spoke to its investigators and testified before the Commission. Furthermore, a culture of distrust in state security agencies has been heightened now that their role as perpetrators is more widely known. This also has contributed to the broader culture of impunity surrounding election related violence in Kenya since the 1990s. Furthermore, it means that victims of sexual violence are now probably even less likely to report the crimes against them given the response they received from some of the security agencies which were supposed to help them rather than attack or abuse them. Institutional and Legal Challenges to Responding to Sexual Violence Other matters affected the proliferation of sexual violence after the 2007 election, coupled with the seemingly endless spread of post election violence in general, thereby contributing to a large and unnecessary number of deaths and injuries, including injuries resulting from sexual violence. As mentioned elsewhere in the Commission’s report, the delay by government in responding to the violence when it began, the failure to anticipate it, the admission by officers in the public administration and security forces of being overwhelmed, and their lack of coordination in dealing with the violence, all 244 See the testimonies and statements of CW 10, CW 17, and the statement taken by the CIPEV investigators on 30 July 2008 who decided she did not want to be part of the hearings. 265
meant that law and order increasingly broke down, thereby inviting a further spread of violence, including sexual violence. As the proprietor of the Pepper Tree Restaurant in Naivasha noted, violence might have been controlled if security had been enhanced as it was in Gilgil town where there was a heavy army presence. This contrasted with neighbouring Naivasha and Nakuru, where there was no intervention of security agents leading to a resulting free-for-all of uncontrolled violence. The consequent spillover of the lack of government control manifested in, roadblocks, lack of security, and lack of transport, all of which kept victims of sexual violence from getting timely medical care. Furthermore, this had a spillover effect in that many medical staff personnel were unable to get to work, there were not enough trained individuals to assist victims, and drugs often were in short supply. In addition, the lack of a coordinated government policy, whether agreeing to keep systematic figures concerning casualties and incidences of sexual violence rather than ignoring it, as well as not communicating instructions to hospitals and citizens that medical fees had been waived, meant that some victims of sexual violence who could have received medical attention did not do so because they thought they would have to pay with money they did not have. In spite of the above, many institutions who had no official responsibility to assist victims of post-election sexual violence offered invaluable humanitarian assistance. The Commission received evidence of the remarkable work of the Kenya Red Cross Society, Médecins Sans Frontières, the Nairobi Women’s Hospital, a number of churches, organizations who came to testify and others about which the Commission still may be unaware. Some of these groups such as the Kenya Red Cross provided first aid, tents, food, clothing and helped survivors reunite with their families, while others, such as the Nairobi Women’s Hospital served as a front line facility, which gave medical care and psychological support to victims of sexual violence and engaged in fundraising so that they could offer their services to victims for free. 266
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Page 3 and 4: election violence. At the very leas
Page 5 and 6: providing victims with medical, psy
Page 7 and 8: psychologist to interact with and a
Page 9 and 10: Mecca for women. They discussed the
Page 11 and 12: police stations, loss of property,
Page 13 and 14: eceive its “comprehensive service
Page 15 and 16: The people whom the Commission hear
Page 17 and 18: involving the 4 by the GSU, 2 by Ad
Page 19 and 20: at the door, the other two got in.
Page 21 and 22: themselves, but also of deliberate
Page 23 and 24: violence would easily happen again.
Page 25 and 26: violence. As a 40 year old married
Page 27 and 28: status and showed them their medica
Page 29: penis]’”. 241Some victims of se
Page 33 and 34: Legal issues arising from sexual vi
Page 35: That said, in all societies sexual

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