Gender-based violence cases in Kenya are increasingly being handled outside the formal justice system, allowing perpetrators of femicide and domestic abuse to avoid accountability while victims are left without real protection or closure, according to Federation of Women Lawyers Kenya legal counsel Brenda Yambo.
Speaking on Radio Generation on Tuesday, Yambo said the country is now facing a deepening crisis of violence against women, driven by weak enforcement of laws, harmful cultural practices and a justice system that often fails to act quickly or firmly.
“I would say femicide has become a national crisis,” she said. “We are normalizing gender-based violence… we are normalizing seeing deaths of women, and that is the saddest part.”
Yambo noted that many survivors of violence are turned away or discouraged when they report cases, with some incidents treated as private family issues instead of criminal offences requiring investigation and prosecution.
“You report, you’re told this is a domestic issue, you handle it at home,” she said, adding that such responses weaken trust in institutions and allow repeated abuse.
She also raised concern over the growing use of informal family and community negotiations to settle gender-based violence cases, saying this often sidelines victims and weakens justice outcomes.
“When you negotiate on issues to do with gender-based violence, yes, a crime has been committed, and the victim is not even part of those negotiations,” she said. “The justice to that particular victim is not centered in all this.”
According to her, some communities resolve serious cases through compensation or traditional agreements instead of allowing police investigations and court processes to proceed.
“Family disputes become family issues and are settled within the family. We bring animals or peace offerings, but the victim is forgotten,” she added.
Yambo said most femicide cases are committed in homes and involve people known to the victims, especially intimate partners or close relatives.
“Most of the crimes that we’re looking at in terms of femicide happen within the confines of the home setting,” she said. “It is with partners or people who you trust the most who break your trust.”
She further criticised growing victim-blaming attitudes, saying public discussion often shifts attention away from perpetrators and focuses on the behaviour of victims instead.
“The conversation is shifting to what did the victim do to deserve this,” Yambo said. “We are not looking at the perpetrator who has actually committed the violence.”
Yambo warned that unless Kenya addresses deeper structural challenges, including cultural norms, mental health gaps, patriarchal systems and weak enforcement mechanisms, cases of violence against women will continue to rise.
“There are structural barriers that could have been prevented before this metamorphosized into something that is now a national crisis,” she said.
Her remarks come at a time when the government is implementing a nationwide 90-day Rapid Results Initiative targeting rising cases of gender-based violence and femicide.
Gender, Culture and Children’s Services Cabinet Secretary Hanna Cheptumo said the programme will focus on speeding up arrests, investigations and court processes, while improving coordination between police officers, prosecutors, health workers and community protection teams.
Authorities say the initiative has been introduced following a sharp increase in reported GBV and femicide cases in recent months, with pressure mounting on the justice system to respond faster and protect survivors more effectively.
During a visit to the Gender Violence Recovery Centre at Nairobi Women’s Hospital, officials revealed that the facility handled about 3,263 survivors of gender-based violence between April 2025 and March 2026, with women and children forming the majority of cases.