The Judiciary has raised alarm over high cases of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in Kisumu and Siaya.
According to the Judiciary, 4.8 per cent of criminal cases filed in Kisumu courts are SGBV while Siaya has been classified as a red district because of its high number of cases.
Speaking in Kisumu during the launch of SGBV and small claims court in Kisumu, Chief Justice Martha Koome said there is a need for urgent intervention.
The CJ argued that the SGBV is a problem that can be nipped at society level.
Koome said it was time communities embraced the value of respecting one another to nip the vice of SGBV to avoid seeing young girls as sex objects.
"I embrace the concept of campaign against SGBV through media, public barazas, religious forums among others to tell our people to respect each other," she said.
She noted that the initiative to establish the SGBV court in Kisumu is a testament that the Judiciary is committed to safeguarding the most vulnerable in the community.
"This becomes the third SGBV court in the country after the ones in Shanzu, Mombasa, and the one in Siaya that I launched Thursday. It underscores our resolve to address these grave offenses with the urgency, sensitivity and confidentiality they deserve," she said.
She noted that specialised court forms part of a strategy to dismantle formal, informal and systemic barriers that prevent victims of sexual and gender-based violence from accessing justice.
