An advocacy group in Kisumu has raised alarm over the rise in rape incidents targeting elderly women in the county.
The programme officer for the gender-based violence recovery centre at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital Ms Angelica Wagwa said cases of women above 60 years of age being raped are reported at the facility every week.
Ms Wagwa said there has been a sharp rise in the number of sexual abuse cases in the county.
Wagwa said issues of rape and other forms of sexual violence in the county are not reported to the police because the culprits are usually people well known to the victims and their relatives.
“50 per cent are elderly women, many of who report to hospital long after evidence of sexual assault has been destroyed. At least 10 defilement and rape cases are reported weekly at the facility, a trend that is worrying,” said the programme officer as quoted by the Standard.
On her part, Kisumu Women Representative Rosa Buyu said the perpetrators of such serious crimes should be arrested and prosecuted according to the law.
Ms Buyu said families protecting the culprits are contributing to the rise in cases of sexual abuse since the perpetrators in most cases usually go scot free.
“The police should launch investigations into the incidents. You cannot express power through rape. Some families are protecting rape suspects,” said Buyu.
Just recently, an 87-year-old woman was raped and left for dead in a slum in Kisumu.