By Matilda Atieno
Although Kisumu has attempted to address rising incidents of teenage pregnancies by enacting specific laws and policies, many challenges have limited the success of these laws and policies. According to the county officer in charge of Gender, Adah Omedi, the vice calls for collaboration between stakeholders including the administration, village elders, police and judiciary to encounter the cases and to get justice for the survivors.
To address the underlying social drivers and environmental conditions that lead to a higher incidence of GBV, the county government and partners work directly with communities to tackle harmful social norms that perpetuate teenage pregnancies in the region.
What’s more, the directorate of Women, Youth and PWD, the county promotes the economic and social empowerment of women and girls through Economic initiatives including, advice on income-generating activities, cash transfer programs, distribution of sanitary towels to, the vulnerable and the promotion of life skills.
The gender sector has committed to carry on with the mobilization of all GBV actors including DPP, Judiciary, County government, CSOs, local leadership, Chief Administrative Officers, Media and all frontline GBV actors to deliberate on ways of addressing GBV right from the household level. This involves capacity building and empowering the different actors and strengthening legislation against GBV, including a review of existing laws to address the gaps, which undermine implementation.