| dc.description.abstract | Survivors of sexual violence in Nairobi continue to face challenges in their quest for justice
despite the existence of a law that broadly criminalises sexual offences. This study was, hence,
designed to answer the following questions: to what extent does the Sexual Offences Act, 2006
increase access to justice for survivors of sexual violence? What steps have been taken to ensure
women and men access justice equally for sexual violence perpetrated against them? To what
extent have law enforcement agencies implemented the Sexual Offences Act, 2006? Flowing
from the research questions, the overall objective of the study was to investigate the extent to
which the Sexual Offences Act, 2006 has enhanced access to justice for survivors of sexual
violence. The specific objectives of the study were to determine how the provisions of the Sexual
Offences Act, 2006 have enhanced access to justice for survivors of sexual violence, to assess
the gender dimensions of the Sexual Offences Act, 2006 and to examine how law enforcement
agencies have implemented the Sexual Offences Act, 2006.
Data for the study was mainly collected through review of secondary sources supplemented by case studies and interviews with key informants. The laws criminalising sexual violence, which are Chapter XV of the Penal Code, Chapter 63 of the Laws of Kenya, the Sexual Offences Act, 2006 the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2003, the Sexual Offences Regulations, 2008 and the
Sexual Offences (Dangerous Offenders DNA Data Bank) Regulations, 2008 were reviewed. The
aim of the review was to identify the strengths and weaknesses in the Sexual Offences Act and
therefore understand the extent to which it responds to matters of access to justice and gender.
Eight key informants were subjected to in-depth interview and cases of twelve survivors of
sexual violence were documented. This was intended to gain insight on the manner in which law
enforcement officers were implementing the Sexual Offences Act, 2006. An interview guide was
applied during interviews with key informants. Case studies were documented according to a
case studies guide.
Content analysis was used to analyse data from the review of secondary sources. Qualitative data
from unstructured and semi-structured interviews were sorted out and interpreted in relation to
the research objectives.
The findings of the study suggest that the coming into force of the Sexual Offences Act, 2006 did
not of itself amount to guaranteeing survivors of sexual violence access to justice. The findings
reveal that some provisions in the Sexual Offence Act, 2006 could deter survivors of sexual
violence from reporting violations and pursuing them in the court. The findings also reveal that
agencies handling sexual violence cases require a lot of sensitization and training on handling of
sexual violence survivors and their cases. | en |
