IF NOT NOW WHEN; SEXUAL AWARENESS MONTH


 Image from Pexels by Markus Wikler

What if your sister, daughter, son or even you became another statistic? Would you remain silent still? This is the time to ask tough questions, reflect deeply and stand with survivors. Why are we raising awareness about this issue in 2025? Is awareness enough? Are we just acknowledging a crisis without taking any action to end it?

 

The statistics on sexual violence in Kenya paints an acutely distressing picture. According to the 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, over 40% of  women have endured physical or sexual intimate partner violence in their lifetime, with the lifetime violence prevalence standing at 20.5% .[1] Another question yet arises. How many of these cases have seen justice? Survivors of this disease are often faced with a system which is slow and unsympathetic. How can we ask survivors to come forward when justice is merely a mirage? What kind of message are we sending to the perpetrators if justice remains inaccessible?

 

Sexual violence is not discriminatory. It does not check on your skin colour nor gender. It does not check on your age nor your financial status. It is happening everywhere and anywhere. At our homes, in school, offices and even in our streets. Why should it feel like we are whispering about it if it is this widespread?

 

How often do we hear jokes which cross the line even from our close friends and family? How many times do we witness inappropriate comments in silence? How many people carry invincible scars from a traumatic experience they never chose that we know of?

 

Should fear or shame make many cases go unreported? Or is it the reality that many believe that justice is unattainable? Many survivors of sexual violence in Kenya are often faced with victim blaming, social ostracization or retaliation for reporting their experience ot forcibly being expelled from their family homes.[2] Most of the victims fear being labelled, they fear no one will believe them or even being rejected by their family. Again I ask, should silence be our default response?

 

Let us talk about consent. Consent is not silence. It is not a maybe nor a drunken nod. Consent is not forced. Consent is the permission or agreement to have something done willingly. It is clear.

 

What should we do now? Should we wait for another life to be shattered so that we can act? Should we wait another voice to be silenced so that we can decide enough is enough? This is the time to push beyond awareness. It is the time to push for stronger enforcement of the existing laws, the time to push for more education and awareness campaigns, the time to push for stronger policies against victim blaming.

 

If not now, when will it be the perfect time? If not us, who will? Let us ask ourselves what role do we play in ending this disease? What can I do to make the world a safe place for all? The time is now!


Authored by Johnson Nguzo, a third year student of law at the University of Nairobi, Parklands Campus

[1] Ikwara, E.A., Humphrey, A., Meble, K. et al. Prevalence and factors influencing intimate partner sexual violence against women aged 15–49 in Kenya: findings from the 2022 Kenya demographic and health survey. BMC Women's Health 25, 74 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-025-03593-7

[2] Leso Munala, “If You Are Raped, You Are Like Secondhand”: Systemic Barriers to Reporting Sexual Violence Against School-Aged Girls in a Rural Community in Kenya


Location: Nairobi, Kenya

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