The Gender Violence Recovery Centre was founded in March 2001 and since its inception, it has supported over 58,000 survivors as of 30th June 2023. It has been instrumental in National Legislation enactment in the field of Gender-Based Violence particularly on the Sexual Offenses Act 2006 policy and in the development and revision of the Post Rape Care (PRC) form gazetted in 2012. GVRC participated in the drafting of the National Gender Policy and inclusion of the GBV course in the Nursing Diploma curriculum among other national documents.
We have vast experience in targeted social mobilization strategies, such as the 1 Million Fathers Movement, that calls on men to end Gender Based Violence by loving, cherishing and protecting all the women and girls in their lives. GVRC was a co-convener of the Africa UNiTE-Kenya Chapter; a regional component of the UN Secretary General’s Global UNiTE Campaign that partners with the Government and other Civil Society Organizations to end Violence against Women.
GVRC continuously aids in setting national policy direction, in particular, the establishment of the Gender Based Violence Recovery Centres in public health facilities. In collaboration with the Nursing Council of Kenya, we successfully lobbied for the inclusion of a 45-hour module on GBV management currently in use in over 14 public universities.
GVRC’s primary prevention focuses on creating awareness that facilitates behaviour change. Target groups are engaged through community and media awareness initiatives as well as innovative child participatory processes. The organization builds the capacities of service providers on GBV management and the community through training. We share community approaches in regard to the prevention of GBV with health facilities, corporate, police, judiciary and school communities through the Teachers’ Service Commission, (TSC).
GVRC has a strong partnership with the National Police Service through capacity enhancement on forensic management, GBV reporting, documentation, referrals and expert testimonies in court. The organization has trained police officers countrywide and across East Africa to manage gender friendly desks at their assigned police stations.
Some of the results recorded include the Kilimani Police Station in Kenya and Kawempe Police Station in Uganda. The two units now have separate sections focused on children’s cases and have improved the quality of interventions as a result of the capacity enhancement training.