Survivors encourage while hospital treats and counsels victims

Few women are speaking out to encourage victims of domestic violence to do the same so that they can be helped out of abusive relationships. The survivors of such attacks are often left in a piteous state, with some being admitted to public hospital where they are exposed to public scrutiny. PHOTO | FILE

What you need to know:

  • Ms Moindi, who heads Empower The Skirt, a community-based organisation (CBO) that focuses on the education of girls,  believes she would suffered even more serious injuries, or possibly even died, had her boyfriend continued beating her.
  • Ms Esnas Nyaramba, is another survivor of gender-based violence. Ms Nyaramba endured beatings, emotional abuse and psychological torture from a violent husband for five years.
  • Her story is similar to that of Ms Magdalene Magangi, who is studying for a PhD in gender and development at Kisii University. The mother of two decided she could take it no more and walked out of an abusive marriage when the constant bickering, verbal abuse and intimidation became a serious hindrance to her career and social life.

Ms Vivian Moindi was relaxing at home in her small rental unit in Kisii Town in August last year when she heard a knock on the door.

The 25-year-old had just graduated from Kisii University and was looking forward to starting life as a graduate teacher.

Upon opening the door, she came face to face with the father of her daughter, from whom she was separated at the time.

Without waiting to be asked in, he pushed her roughly inside the house and grabbed her by the neck, demanding that she hand over their five-year-old daughter

“As much as he was physically stronger than me and capable of violence, I just couldn’t give in to his demands. Trembling, I stood my ground and told him our daughter was with my mother at my rural  home in Nyamira County,” she recalls.

Her reply sparked off a vicious assault that left her bruised and battered, sprawled on the floor.

“My baby’s father kicked, punched and shoved me to the floor in a fit of rage I had never seen in him before. When I realised that he would batter me to death if I resisted or screamed, I lay quiet on the floor, gritting my teeth to keep myself from screaming,” the young mother recalls.

His rage satiated, her boyfriend left the house, slamming the door behind him.

The attack left Ms Moindi partially blind in one eye, such that she now has to use spectacles.

“I never recovered full use of my left eye. The glasses you see me wearing are partly to cover my eyes, which were affected by the blows to my face,” she explains.

Ms Moindi, who heads Empower The Skirt, a community-based organisation (CBO) that focuses on the education of girls,  believes she would suffered even more serious injuries, or possibly even died, had her boyfriend continued beating her.

“I am alive today only by the grace of God,” she says, adding that the man still sends her threatening text messages.

However, she has moved on and is in a relationship she describes as “a blessing from heaven”.

STAYING ALIVE

Stories of horrific scenes that take place in homes around the greater Kisii, which covers Kisii and Nyamira counties abound. It is notable they are all educated, eloquent and articulate graduates with stable careers, an indication that gender-based violence (GBV) affects the learned just as much as it affects the illiterate. GRAPHIC | FILE

Ms Esnas Nyaramba, is another survivor of gender-based violence. Ms Nyaramba endured beatings, emotional abuse and psychological torture from a violent husband for five years.

“I am a woman with many scars from the man I loved,” she says with a poignant smile.

“He would  beat me for real and imagined offences. At times, he would just attack me when in a foul mood after a particularly strenuous day. The attacks normally occurred when he was drunk, then when sober he would apologise for his violent behaviour and even buy me and the children gifts,” says the mother of three.

One night during a particularly vicious attack, he stabbed on the right hand when she raised it in an attempt to protect their son, who had rushed to their room after hearing her distress calls as her husband beat her.

“He was beating me time when my son came into the room. My husband tried to stab him for coming into the room on hearing his mother’s screams. I instinctively raised my hand to protect my son from the knife and it landed on my hand,” she says.

Finally, fearing for her children’s safety, the Amani National Congress Kisii Branch chairperson packed and moved out of her matrimonial home two years ago. 

“It got to a point where I had to make the tough choice between staying with the man I loved and probably dying in one of his foul-tempered attacks, or walking away so that my children could be assured of a peaceful, normal childhood in my care,” she says emotionally.

She eventually left the marriage and started a new life for herself as an activist, entrepreneur and politician, who now works to ensure that other women and children undergoing similar experiences are given a second chance at a peaceful life.

Her story is similar to that of Ms Magdalene Magangi, who is studying for a PhD in gender and development at Kisii University.

The mother of two decided she could take it no more and walked out of an abusive marriage when the constant bickering, verbal abuse and intimidation became a serious hindrance to her career and social life.

“I yearned for a peaceful environment where I could raise my two daughters undisturbed. Besides, the emotional strain had become a threat to my stability as a teacher and parent,” she says.

Against all odds, including ridicule from friends and criticism from the community, she left her husband and began the long — and often painful— process of going back to a semblance of a normal life.

“The first few months were difficult since my children would ask me hard questions about their father, but they have eventually settled down, marking a new chapter in our life as a family. Things are now much better for all of us,” she says.

The three women’s stories are but a few of the horrific scenes that take place in homes around the greater Kisii, which covers Kisii and Nyamira counties.

And it is notable they are all educated, eloquent and articulate graduates with stable careers, an indication that gender-based violence (GBV) affects the learned just as much as it affects the illiterate. 

“We are supposed to be docile and persevere whatever harsh treatment our men subject us to, in the hope that they will change their behaviour with time. Sadly, this does not happen in many cases,” Ms Nyaramba notes.

STRENGTH IN UNITY

They are among the few who have spoken out to encourage victims of domestic violence to do the same so that they can be helped out of abusive relationships; many cases go unreported for fear of the resultant stigma.

The survivors of such attacks are often left in a piteous state, with some being admitted to public hospital where they are exposed to public scrutiny.

During an interview last year, medics at the Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital (KTRH) told DN2 that cases of gender-based violence had been on the rise.

Kisii County Commandant Ms Agnes Mudamba says it is important to educate the public on the procedures to follow when dealing with cases involving genpeople on the steps to take.

“Most  offenders go scot-free for of lack of evidence from survivors. The survivors need to go for a medical examination to enable the police to get the information they need to launch an investigation,” says Ms Mudamba, adding that they encounter even more serious challenges when survivors receive threats from the community and family members.

Ms Mudamba says as a result, the survivors change the statements they recorded during police investigations, effectively ruining their chances of getting justice. 

“We have lost some opportunities to prosecute perpetrators of violence because the survivors change their statements midway through the investigations, or simply fail to attend court sessions. When they do this, they give the accused persons leeway to go free since the cases are dismissed,” she says. 

The police boss said there is a need for survivors to allow justice to take its course, but at the same time acknowledged that the repercussions of doing so sometimes scare them away from seeking legal redress.

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ALARMING RISE AND SEVERITY

Anti GBV organisations and Kisii University students march in Kisii Town in November last year to mark  16 days of activisim against the vice. PHOTO | FILE

A centre that takes care of GBV victims’ needs

To help victims of gender–based violence,  the Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital  (KTRH) set up the Gender Violence Recovery Centre in late June last year.

The clinic, which was is located in a secluded area of the hospital, was established to manage the increasing number of GBV survivors coming to the hospital and to give them the privacy they need as they heal.

The centre handles GBV survivors of different types of abuse, including  rape, physical assault, female genital mutilation, defilement and sodomy. It also offers trauma, adherence, regular supportive and legal counselling to clients.

“Our would-be clients sometimes shy away from reporting that they have been attacked due to the stigma that often results from other people knowing about what they are undergoing. It is especially difficult for women, who bear the brunt of such violence,” says Sister Margaret Mogaka, who heads the centre.

KTRH urges survivors of gender-based violence to report to the clinic for emergency treatment and examination as soon as they can.

SAFE SPACE

“Emergency treatment ensures that the survivor is given treatment for sexually transmitted infections (STI), post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for the prevention of HIV, and counselling for the prevention of post-traumatic stress disorder that occurs in many of the victims,” says Ms Margaret Mogaka, a nursing counsellor and coordinator of the clinic.

She adds that the clinic waives all charges for the treatment of victims of sexual violence.

Ms Mogaka says that physical violence involving couples has been on the rise in the past  year.

“Women are the most affected in cases of physical and domestic violence that the hospital has received. Some of the injuries are so serious that the victims have to undergo surgery and have  blood transfusions,” she says.

She adds that cases of sodomy and defilement of street children have also been increasing.

“Cases of defilement are highest, followed by rape, then sodomy,” she says.

The clinic receives an average of four survivors per week, which comes to about 20 in a month.

Ms Mogaka says the clinic works 24 hours and was not affected by the doctor’s strike.

“We are handling gender-based violence cases despite the strike. Survivors should not hesitate to contact us as soon as possible,” says the nurse.

Meanwhile, the hospital’s medical superintendent, Dr Enock Ondari, told DN2 during an interview last year that the hospital was alarmed by the increasing cases of gender- based violence, as well as their severity,   which prompted them to set up the clinic.

“We have been receiving a lot of GBV victims lately and saw it wise to set up a rescue centre where they can get help and also  talk  about their experiences without fear,” said Dr Ondari during the interview last week.

“The clinic also offers psychological counselling for all the victims in addition to the medical examination and physical treatment it gives those who with serious injuries,” added Dr Ondari.

Ms Mogaka  says that between June and December last year, they treated  113 survivors, 58 cases of which involved sexual violence and 38 resulting from other forms of violence such as physical and psychological.

The clinic also helps the survivors report the violations to the police so that investigations can begin as soon as possible.