ABSTRACT
Gender-based violence continues to be an area of concern in Kenya, as in the world over, in spite of efforts by the government of Kenya to design and enact laws and policies combating this behavior. This behavior, which is embedded within Kenya’s social-cultural fabric, is a legitimate cultural practice in some communities. It involves intimate partner violence, often known as domestic violence; female genital cutting; child marriage; honor killings; and widow cleansing, to mention a few. The fact that some of these practices have been legitimized by cultural and religious norms, including religious values, means that the violence is socially entrenched, sacred, and uncontested. In this chapter, the authors draw from existing data to highlight how gender-based violence is constructed and informed through culture and religious values in select communities in Kenya. The authors explore the moral rationale behind these practices to highlight patriarchal and sexist norms behind gender-based violence and especially how social equality and human rights are undermined. While acknowledging the often-compelling arguments for the practices, we highlight the controversial discourse that surround these practices due to moral universality and cultural relativist viewpoints. It is the objective of this chapter also to explore efforts by the government of Kenya towards minimizing the human suffering that results from gender-based violence through the development and enactment of effective human rights-based policy.
