Kisumu County Gender Boss Jane Obiero. [Photo| R.Muyela]
People who were meted with Gender Based Violence (GBV) during the post election protests have been urged to seek psycho-social support from rescue facilities setup in Kisumu County.
Kisumu County Gender Boss Jane Obiero said that women and children were the hardest hit by the bloody incidents that played at the Lake Side City as a section of them suffered sexual and physical violence.
The victims of rape, Obiero said needed to be supported, counseled and embraced by the society for them to be able to heal from the terror unleashed to them.
Obiero made the remarks during a Gender Based Violence symposium at a Kisumu hotel where she was informed that three women were confirmed to have been raped during the skirmishes and other 27 women were currently enrolled in the healing exercise.
Psychosocial support, Obiero said was imperative for every victim warning that those who snubbed the exercise risk suffering psychotic conditions like life long trauma, unplanned pregnancies and also transmission of HIV/AIDS among other Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI’s).
As a move towards rehabilitating women exposed to GBV, Bernard Ochola, a member of AphiaPlus Secretariat revealed that five safe houses were under construction to shelter such victims in bid to accelerate the healing process.
The rescue centers, he said were being set-up by the County Government of Kisumu in Kanyamethe, Otonglo, Nyang’ando and Rabuor.
The fifth centre which is on its last facets of construction is being set-up by Plan International and would be handed over to the devolved unit’s management after its accreditation.
The Government through the Health Ministry, Ochola said was committed to entrenching an all inclusive society and finding justice for GBV victims.
He stated that a Government had set-up a Laboratory at JOOTRH with the capacity to conduct DNA forensic investigations on rape victims with an aim of netting the perpetrators.
The laboratory, Ochola said had steeped-up rape investigations as DNA samples no-longer need to be sent to Nairobi for examination as it had been the case.