The recently concluded 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) renewed focus on one of Kenya's most vulnerable groups -- refugee women and girls. This spotlight must not dim with the campaign's end, particularly as Kenya stands at a crossroads with its refugee integration plans, which may provide a transformative opportunity for refugee women and girls to access increased justice and protection for GBV, if implemented effectively.
Kenya currently hosts over 800,000 refugees, more than half of whom are women and girls. These resilient women have fled devastating conflicts, climate related shocks and human rights abuses in their countries of origin, only to face continued risks of violence and exploitation within their new homes and communities.
Refugee women face a higher risk of GBV compared to their host community counterparts by 20%. According to the Danish Refugee Council's October 2023 protection monitoring report, prevalent forms of GBV in the Kenyan refugee camps include physical abuse (at 16.5%), forced marriage (16.4%), emotional abuse (13.5%), and harmful practices like FGM (12.8%).
Despite the prevalence of these abuses, a majority of GBV cases go unreported due to mistrust of law enforcement, fear of repercussions for reporting, and the stigma associated with GBV. For many, the silence stems from the inability to access justice systems that feel alien. Additionally, others such as LGBTQ+ refugees face discrimination in accessing health services and economic opportunities
The path to GBV recovery and redress is riddled with obstacles as refugee survivors grapple with many unique challenges when pursuing justice, such as language barriers, prohibitive costs for legal services, and limited awareness of their rights and judicial processes.
Many survivors also face the additional burden of a precarious legal status and the lack of essential documentation, such as refugee IDs. This not only restricts access to critical services like hospitals and police stations but also limits employment opportunities -- an essential pathway for escaping abusive situations, for victims of intimate partner violence.
Kenya's proposed Shirika Plan, a multiyear initiative for promoting the socioeconomic inclusion of refugees in Kenya through transitioning refugee camps into integrated settlements, offers a unique opportunity to address these issues. If properly implemented, integration could dismantle many of the barriers refugee women face and may foster an environment that enhances GBV risk reduction, response, and prevention.
Under the Shirika Plan, integration could pave the way for refugee women to access more comprehensive legal protections, as laws such as the Refugee Act 2021 would be fully enforced. One-stop centers for legal remedies and redress, GBV recovery centers in hospitals, and gender desks at police stations would become more accessible, as refugee IDs would be more widely accepted, creating crucial pathways to justice. By incorporating refugee cases within the national judicial system, survivors would also have greater opportunities for their cases to be addressed formally. While there is no parallel legal system for refugees, many individuals prefer informal mechanisms, such as Maslaha -- traditional dispute resolution methods commonly utilized in North Eastern Kenya and the Dadaab refugee camps. Strengthening access to formal systems would complement these preferences by ensuring all survivors have increased opportunities to seek justice through accessible and standardized legal frameworks.
Additionally, economic dependency is a major contributor for vulnerability to abuse. As such, increasing refugee women's participation and integration in the economy would reduce their risk of domestic abuse, as it would foster self-reliance and provide a vital pathway for them to escape intimate partner violence.
Integrating refugees into the national healthcare system would also ensure that survivors sustainably access post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), trauma counseling, and forensic services, thereby expanding access to comprehensive health services.
Social-economic integration would also benefit GBV survivors from the host community as it would necessitate investment in law enforcement, judicial training, and GBV response systems, thereby enhancing protections for Kenyan citizens and the refugee community.
Effective integration requires ensuring that survivors have immediate access to essential support services, including medical care, legal aid, psychosocial counseling, and social reintegration programs. If these services are embedded within government structures, they could create an opportunity to improve coordination and establish clear referral pathways within both national and county systems, ultimately enhancing the overall response to GBV for refugees and the host community.
Despite the benefits, integration will come with challenges that stakeholders will need to address; for instance, without adequate resources, Kenya's existing legal and social systems could become overwhelmed once integration is in place, delaying justice for survivors.
Moreover, the misconception of preferential treatment of refugees under the integration plan may increase hostilities between refugees and the host community, ultimately resulting in an initial increase in GBV cases against the refugee population.
To ensure meaningful integration, it will be crucial to focus on strengthening GBV prevention and response systems, while addressing institutional capacity gaps. This effort will require close collaboration between aid organizations and government stakeholders, who must prioritize the enforcement of the 2021 Refugee Act, and social cohesion between refugees and the host community, with a focus on GBV prevention, and survivor support, and with refugee women at the center of policy planning and execution, as stipulated by articles 21, 34(2), and 36 of the Act.
These actors also need to ensure that critical services are expanded through the establishment of GBV shelters and one-stop centers in refugee-hosting counties, and that adequate funding is secured for healthcare, legal services, and psychosocial support, taking into consideration the current challenges faced by existing GBV shelters as it relates to limited funding and a lack of legal recognition.
Additionally, law enforcement training must be enhanced to equip police and judicial staff with the skills to handle GBV cases sensitively and equitably, alongside mandatory training to combat bias.
Support should also be provided for Refugee-Led Organizations given their vital role in understanding and addressing the unique needs of their communities. These organizations must be empowered to deliver culturally sensitive services effectively.
Kenya has an opportunity to lead by example, setting a global benchmark for safeguarding the rights of refugee women. While gender-based violence cannot be eradicated overnight, dismantling the legal and systemic barriers survivors face is an essential first step.
Integrating refugees into national systems represents more than just a policy change -- it's a transformative move toward justice, equality, and resilience. Addressing the structural inequalities that perpetuate violence offers Kenya the chance to break the cycle and build a society where every woman feels safe, valued, and empowered.
Amy Oloo is the coordinator for the NGO Refugee Group (NRG), a coordination body of 52 international and national NGOs working in the refugee space in Kenya. The NGO Refugee Group provides a platform for joint dialogue, joint advocacy, and coordinated emergency response, and seeks to influence national policy towards rights-based-approaches. The NRG collaborates with communities, Refugee Led Organizations, the government of Kenya, donors, UN actors, private sector, and international financial institutions in working towards positive outcomes for refugees and hosting communities.