WOUNDED HEALERS INTERNATIONAL

Help End Sexual Violence | Support Survivors sexual violence in Kenya

Penelope P

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No Girl Should Compromise her Dignity for Menstrual Hygiene Products

Let’s Talk About Periods 😊
Well, there is a reason as to why I used the above emoji. And I guess its meaning is all displayed on your pretty face when you read the blog title. Frequently, many ladies embrace such a face when this subject is mentioned; and this is most prevalent among teenagers. Why? Because they always feel shy talking about it. And who’s to blame? Well, this is a sensitive question. And I guess you already got some answers running in your mind. I’ll leave it to you to juggle on it.



Why the shyness when the talk about periods is brought to the table
The majority of girls, when asked anything about menstruation, they’ll most probably feel psychologically and emotionally constrained to freely talk about it. This goes to the ladies; when you first heard about periods, what was your reaction? Did you try to evade the conversation, or did you chip in the exchange to learn more? I bet the former took the lead. I will share some of my thoughts on this.
And I will sway more on the African lifestyle while discussing this. You see, in most African homes, children are socialized to become independent and learn to stand up for themselves from the earliest time possible. They are taught about social roles; little is taught about their biological functions and how they are supposed to play them. The boy child is taught complex jobs and labeled as the head of the family from an early age. He then learns to behave as per the label attached on in; in psychology, this is called the self-fulfilling prophecy – when one starts to act according to a designation given to him by society. He’s not told that he can impregnate a girl when he hits his teens age. And in occasions where he does impregnate a girl, some applaud him for being a man enough to sire- especially in native African regions.
Now to the subject matter of menstruation, do girls really receive enough information about menstruation while growing up? In the African context, and in pre-teenage, girls are socialized to take up feminine roles and behave as housekeepers. Parents seem not to care much about educating their daughters about menstruation until their first experience. They know little or nothing about ovulation and all menstrual stuff. Thus, initiating such a conversation with them as outsiders will not be openly received because the first socialization agents (family) never gave them any information about periods. And to them, they feel it’s something that should be hidden and kept only to themselves.
The shyness is still perpetuated by some religious beliefs whereby girls are seen as unclean when they’re menstruating. In some spiritual practices, girls cannot step a foot in their worship places, even in this modernism era where civilization has taken the lead.

Some dismal menstruation facts
Modernism has saved the human race through the tones of inventions and innovations taking place each and every day. In this regard, the credit goes to all who tried to invent sanitary pads and tampons to ensure girls’ menstrual hygiene. Nonetheless, not every girl can access the said hygienic pads and tampons due to extreme poverty. For instance, in Wajir County, some girls are forced to sit on the sand all day long during their menstruation days because they lack sanitary towels to maintain their menstrual hygiene. 
This situation compels them to avoid school for as long as they are receiving their periods. Sitting all day long in the scorching sun, with no one to have a conversation with. This is so disheartening for one to go through in the 21st century where such issues have a remedy. It continues to
Others, where sitting on the sand is not an option, often get sexually exploited by “Bodaboda” taxi drivers in exchange for some little money to buy sanitary pads. ( Boda Boda drivers earn a living by ferrying people around using motorcycles). These, among others, are some of the setbacks towards realizing menstrual dignity.

A call to action
Nevertheless, it’s not overdue to spread the word about how menstruation is not a thing to shy off and why it’s indispensable to enlighten girls about menstruation soonest possible without waiting for them to have their first experience. Consequently, the practices of marginalizing menstruating girls should seize as this affects girls psychologically to an extent where they abhor themselves for being women because of the mauling they receive from society.
On that account, every menstruating girl deserves a smiley face for being such a beautiful and wonderful creature.
 
#Mensturationmatters.
 

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The Trauma Associated With Sexual Assault In Children

In as much as the majority believe a Child’s memory fades with time, that is not the case for sexual violence. Many grow up with the memory of the assault wishing the situation was handled differently. Others blame themselves for being targets of pedophiles.

According to the survey conducted by the Kenyan government, the researchers spoke to more than 2000 children and young adults from all 47 counties in Kenya between December 2018 and January 2019. The survey was named The 2019 Violence Against Children Survey (VACS).The key findings revealed:

  • Half of the young women (52 percent) and young men (51.5 percent) between the ages of 18 and 24 witnessed violence at home as a child.
  • Almost half of the girls (48.2 percent) and more than two out of five boys (41.7 percent) aged 13 to 17 had experienced violent discipline like corporal punishment in the 12 months before the survey.
  • It is not common for children to report violence or seek assistance. Only 12.5 percent of young women who had experienced sexual violence as a child sought help, and only three percent of young men.
  • Of the women who did not seek help, more than half (53.6 percent) said it was because they did not think the abuse was a problem.
  • Many children think violence is to be tolerated. More than half of girls (50.5 percent) and almost half of boys (47.3 percent) aged between 13 and 17 indicated it was acceptable for a husband to beat his wife.
  • Physical violence was the most common type of violence experienced as a child, reported by 38.8 percent of young women and 51.9 percent of young men aged 18-24.
  • Nearly one in six young women (15.6 percent) aged 18 to 24 experienced sexual violence as a child, compared to 6.4 percent of young men, with intimate partners the most common perpetrators.
  • Around a third of boys (32.2 percent) and girls (34.3 percent) aged 13 to 17 experienced emotional violence – such as being told that their parent wished they had never been born – in the 12 months before the survey was conducted.

The statistics are worrisome, showcasing a high number of assault cases happens in homes and schools, places where the kids are confined, and that the abuser is well known to the family and the society; hence the case may not be handled in favor of the child instead the turn of the adults to protect their image.

April is sexual assault awareness month; the Wounded Healers International seeks to create awareness to anyone who has a child that is assaulted or anyone who was attacked as a child, now an adult and never got help. To contact us and get free counseling, we shall work with you to ensure you get the healing you deserve at no cost.

Applaud to the Kenyan celebrities coming out to speak about their assault experiences when they were younger and how they have learned to take caution as they raise their kids and are openly sharing tall free numbers and government offices to get help.

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Sexual Consent Age Remains At 18

Joy as sexual consent remains at 18 years! After a motion was set in 2019 to lower the consent age to 16 years, a surge to have consent age reduced to 16 years was that more underage children were involved in the sexual act among fellow underage counterparts and some with adults.

Ministry of Labor and Social Protection and National Gender and Equality Commission stated on 17th on March 2021 packed up with research justifying why the consent age will remain at 18 years.

Mental and physical health were the prevailing reasons given, stating that a child sexually exposed at a young age will have severe mental and physical health issues that may affect them for a lifetime.

Citizens backed this statement, capturing that those fighting for the consent date reduced adults taking advantage of the young girls and boys.

The ruling on the consent age is a big win to our organization, given that we have a goal to end sexual abuse and re-abuse . The organization has been offering counseling and support to sexually violated children since 2018. We believe that the recent ruling will help reduce the cases of sexual violence in the country.

National news

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Celebrating International Women’s Day In A Unique Way

We marked International Women’s day in a unique style. The organization joined other women-based organizations in the Nairobi area, who in return planned for a walk that aimed to raise awareness on organizations that empower women and talk encouraging women in leadership since that was the theme.

On Friday the 5th of March of 2021, women and organizations that support women gathered outside Kasarani police station where participants walked, and organizations represented were introduced to the people and the vicinity.

The women representative of Nairobi county Honorable Esther Passaris graced the event. As a woman leader, she too participated in the walk, and in her speech, she delivered links on where women can get help under her leadership. She also shared opportunities that the county government has set aside to empower women.

She concluded by highlighting the rise of sexual violence on girls under the age of 18, which has led to high numbers of school dropouts due to early pregnancies and living with the trauma. A sector that the Wounded Healers organization has a call to end sexual violence in Kenya.

Other organizations supported women by promoting women’s businesses by giving them loans and grants for the women groups to stand to their feet. Others that offered shelter to violated females and lawyers were made known to the public that day.

International women’s day was essential to us as an organization because we got to link up with other organizations in line with our work of duty. It opened windows for our organization to leverage its activities to better the female in Kenya.

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SEXUAL VIOLENCE EDUCATION IN BUNGOMA

In pursuit of providing Sexual Violence Awareness and Prevention Education( Nilinde curriculum),-Wounded Healers expanded to Bungoma County and trained ten young women who will lead in creating awareness of sexual violence in their own community.  Bungoma County ranked second and Kakamega County fifth in the top 10 counties recording the highest rates of teen pregnancies in 2018.

Nilinde is a swahili word for PROTECT. Nilinde is 10 hours curriculum that invest in grouping high school boys and girls at grassroot, delivering a comprehensive Sexual violence awareness and education and instigating collective social norms on issues that affect adolescents boys and girls.

According to one community member, most people feel that women have brought suffering to themselves. This has derailed efforts by activists to fight the brutal and heinous behavior in the area.

The ten young facilitators came from Cheptais and Chesikaki Communities. A significant number of women and girls from these communities have been raped and defiled, yet no legal action has been taken. Many victims and survivors live with the effects of atrocities with nowhere to go and no one to rescue them.

These ten facilitators will educate the community on sexual violence prevention and human rights. Some advantages of having this community empowerment are that the ten facilitators speak the communities dialect and are well-versed with areas’ terrain and cultures. Wounded healers will provide all resources and capacity building to the team in Bungoma.

After three days of facilitators training, we visited our first high school for practical implement the project-Mulatiwa Secondary School, a mixed school where the project was briefly introduced and provided all girls with sanitary pads.