Some LGBTQ rights organizations in Kenya have developed new safety measures to shield people of the adult population from the threat of femicide, which has become more prevalent in the country recently.
Employing qualified surveillance response teams, crisis toll-free numbers, and training queer women on self-defense as they go about their daily lives in racist societies are some of the tactics used.
The LGBTQ rights organizations’ decision to develop their safety measures is driven by laxity from security organizations, who deny the complainants’ claims of “personal bias, discrimination, and victimization” based on their sexual orientation whenever they seek assistance.
Same-sex sexual activity is prohibited in Kenya under Sections 162 and 165 of the Penal Code, and gay rights organizations contacted by the Washington Blade claimed that the government takes advantage of this criminalization.
Elly Doe, the executive director of KISLEB, a Kisumu-based organization that fights for the rights of gay, bisexual, and queer women, said, “We have contracted two surveillance response primary people in our organization to listen to violations of LBQ women in Kenya.”
Doe, whose group also fights against femicide, said KISLEB is a member of a specific security situation room established to look into ways to combat rising insecurity in the nation’s LGBTQ community.
An LGBTQ rights group called The Initiative for Equality and Non-Discrimination, which was also contacted by the Blade, stated that it has been running campaigning initiatives that include creating safer spaces conferences to discuss femicide and violence against women, both online and in person.
For example, one of the forums held in Mombasa last September explored how communities and institutions can collaborate to stop violence against disadvantaged women, provide effective help for survivors, and organize mentorship and awareness campaigns. Lesbian, bisexual, gay, trans, women in politics, sports, media, women who have disabilities, and sex workers were among the participants.
Melody Njuki, the group’s communications officer, expressed her concern about the rise in femicide, tyranny, and violence against women, including gay people, that go unchecked is caused by a number of social aspects, including economic isolation.
“The intersectional problems faced by marginalized communities and functionally silenced people, especially sex workers and LBQT+ people, add complexity to the problems faced by femicide victims due to discrimination, shame, and systemic inequalities,” Njuki said.
In a global city demonstration against rising femicide and violence against women, INEND and KISLEB joined other LGBTQ rights organizations, liberals, and dozens of human rights organizations in Kenya last month.
The terrible killing of 16 people in the nation since the start of the year led to the Jan. 27 demonstrations. In honor of this week’s femicide victims, whose number had increased to more than 30, hundreds of women, including those who identify as gay, wore black clothing and lit candles and red roses during a Valentine’s Day celebration.
Doe expressed concern about her group’s involvement in the opposition, noting that “KISLEB as an institution that champions the rights of the LBQ women may not sit back and watch as women are willfully violated and killed… but in recent years the amount has been rising fast and so many culprits go unpunished.” “We were able to show our support for different women’s rights organizations by condemning femicide by participating in the opposition.”
Doe expressed concern about a rise in racist threats made to queer women, especially on social media and in residential areas, and called for police to be educated on LGBTQ issues in order to deal with this issue without bias.
“We have likewise witnessed the rise in the deaths of the LGBTQ community, such as the cases of a transgender woman activist in Nairobi in August and a non-binary homosexual woman Sheila Lumumba in April 2022,” she said.
Following the sentencing of the suspect Billington Mwathi to 30 years in prison, INEND, along with the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, and Galck+, which participated in Lumumba’s crime case last December, were disappointed with the jury. The three LGBTQ rights organizations criticized the sentence as “lenient” and claimed that it didn’t do Lumumba justice because the suspect murdered her before raping her.
Because Lumumba’s killing was not just an act of violence against an individual, but an assault on the integrity and security of the LGBTQ community, the groups claimed they wanted Mwathi to get a life sentence.
However, INEND attributes the rise in femicide to victim-blaming on the part of the public and some leaders, which causes a disconnect between the protection of the victims’ rights and its subsequent erosion, as seen in the LGBTQ community.
According to Njuki, “the path to murder begins with the demonization of the most marginalized, next progresses all the way up the masculine system’s hierarchy.”
She revealed that INEND was organizing a campaign activity known as “#EndFemicideKe” to educate policymakers about the urgent need to impose strict laws on the killing of women. However, Njuki applauded the Kenya Mag
istrates and Judges Association commentators for their cooperation with INEND and determination to demonstrate a greater understanding of human rights, especially the protection of LGBTQ rights.
She cited the High Court’s decision that allowed the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission to register as a non-governmental organization in support of freedom of association and the start of a criminal book last year to help judges better protect gay people’s rights.
