Rights group says Presidential task force report indicates GBV crisis threatening Kenya's democracy

A new report by the Presidential Task Force on Gender-Based Violence has exposed deep structural barriers, entrenched grassroots intimidation and a surge in online attacks targeting women in leadership.

This has prompted fresh calls for urgent national action.

Women in Democracy and Governance (WIDAG) said the findings of the task force, chaired by former Deputy Chief Justice Nancy Baraza, confirm that gender-based violence (GBV) in Kenya has reached a national emergency and threatens the country’s democratic foundations.

“Today, we stand at a critical crossroads for our nation,” said Pamela Ateka, President of WIDAG and Community Focus Group (CFG), while addressing the press in Nairobi.

“Despite the progressive promises of our Constitution, the reality for Kenyan women remains a harrowing tale of structural exclusion, physical danger at the grassroots, and an alarming new frontier of digital warfare,” she added.

Ateka said the data highlights stark inequalities in political representation. Although women constitute more than half of Kenya’s population, they hold less than 10 per cent of directly elected parliamentary seats.

“Our electoral process remains rigged against women. While women are over 50 per cent of the population, we are less than 10 per cent of directly elected MPs. That is not accidental, it is structural,” she said.

She cited prohibitive campaign costs as a primary obstacle, referring to it as ‘the pink tax of politics’.

“Financial barriers remain the single greatest hurdle. Women, who often lack property rights for collateral, cannot compete with the massive, often unregulated campaign war chests of their male counterparts,” Ateka said.

She further criticised the failure to operationalise the two-thirds gender rule enshrined in the Constitution of Kenya, noting that 15 years after promulgation, it remains unimplemented.

“We are witnessing compliance by convenience. Political parties nominate women to tick a constitutional box, but rarely support them in competitive elective positions,” she noted.

The task force report also documents widespread insecurity at the grassroots level.

It states that nearly 90 per cent of women aspirants interviewed reported feeling unsafe during party primaries.

“This violence is not random. It is a calculated tool of displacement, from character assassination and physical assault to demands for ‘protection fees’ by local gangs, designed to ensure women know their place,” she said.

Beyond political spaces, the report indicates that 40 per cent of Kenyan women have experienced intimate partner violence, a crisis Ateka said extends into civic life.

“That violence does not stop at the doorstep. It spills into the political arena through domestic coercion that prevents women from exercising their democratic rights,” Ateka noted.

She added that of growing concern is the rapid escalation of technology-facilitated gender-based violence ahead of the 2027 General Election.

“The internet has become a lawless zone for women in leadership. We are seeing coordinated character assassination through paid bloggers, deepfake images and gendered disinformation. There is doxing and stalking, private home addresses and even children’s school locations are being leaked to force women into silence,” Ateka said.

She warned that the digital onslaught is producing a chilling effect, discouraging young and qualified women from entering public service.

“Talented young women are stepping back before they even begin, fearing the permanent stain of online vitriol,” she said.

WIDAG is now demanding the immediate public release of the full task force report and the allocation of funds for a National Femicide Prevention Strategy, warning that failure to act would undermine Kenya’s democratic progress.

“The Task Force report must not be allowed to gather dust on the shelves of the Executive. We cannot claim to be a modern democracy while half of our citizens are bullied, silenced and battered out of the political process. Justice is not merely a legal resolution. It is the restoration of dignity. Silence is complicity,” Ateka said.