Nairobi, 31st of May 2023 – The Ambassador of Italy to Kenya, Roberto Natali, and UN Women Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, Dr. Maxime Houinato, signed this morning the Agreement to kick-start the project “Let it not Happen Again: Safeguarding the Rights of GBV Survivors through Access to Justice”, a 3-year initiative worth 1,8 Million EUR (approximately 268 Million KES) funded by the Italian Cooperation and implemented by UN WOMEN in partnership with OHCHR. The event counted on the presence of Ms. Veronica Nduva, Principal Secretary for the State Department for Gender and Affirmative Action of Kenya, Mr. Giovanni Grandi, Head of the Regional Office of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation in Nairobi, Mr. Anthony Ngororano, UN Resident Coordinator ad interim, Ms. Anna Mutavati, UN WOMEN Country Representative for Kenya, representatives from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Right (OHCHR), from the National Police Service and from the civil society.
The initiative, that will be realized in the counties of Nairobi, Kisumu, Kilifi, Isiolo, Bungoma and Vihiga. It will support the implementation of policy reforms and the strengthening of relevant institutions it will focus on women empowerment, the recognition of the role and rights of women in society and access to justice for victims of violence.
As Ambassador Natali said, “Italy firmly believes that gender equality and women empowerment are essential to eradicate poverty and build a society based on sustainable development, social justice and human rights. The message we want to launch once again today is: Let it not happen again!”
Giovanni Grandi, Head of Aics Regional Office, said: “This new phase marks a transition in the approach of the Italian Cooperation in Kenya to the fight against GBV, having a wider scope in terms of time duration, financial resources allocated and number of counties of intervention”.
According to Dr Houinato, “One of the major results from this partnership was that Kenya’s elections were largely peaceful with considerably fewer cases of VAWE reported, as compared to elections of the past. However, our work is not yet finished. While GBV still persists in Kenya, we must build on our lessons learnt to support comprehensive prevention and response programming, that addresses the social and structural factors that drive GBV.”
