A strategic partner in this area is UN WOMEN, with whom AICS has established a solid collaboration. Since 2019, the Nairobi office of AICS has been collaborating with this agency through the initiative “Let It Not Happen Again”, aimed at improving access to justice for gender-based violence (GBV) survivors. The initiative is currently in its fourth phase of realization, working alongside local institutions (police, judiciary, and health services) to enhance the response to GBV also through awareness-raising activities.
Furthermore, in 2024 AICS launched an initiative which is being realized by two Italian Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), focusing on women's empowerment, health, and the environment in two Arid and Semi-Arid (ASAL) counties. The initiative is made of two components: one is realized by We World-G.V.C. Onlus in Narok County, focusing on preventing GBV and harmful practices, raising awareness among students about their sexual and reproductive rights, and training local institutions to improve access to essential services. Another component, implemented by Istituto Pace Sviluppo Innovazione ACLI (IPSIA) in Laikipia, focuses on strengthening women's decision-making roles, ensuring equitable access to the agricultural market and land management, and developing climate change adaptation plans in areas affected by drought and other adverse phenomena.
In the context of continuous support for the issue, AICS Nairobi also integrates specific and cross-cutting interventions to reduce GBV and promote women empowerment in the medium term, as well as through sensitization campaigns and other actions, both online and offline. An example of this approach is represented, for example, by the 'Activate Nairobi' awareness campaign organized in 2023 by AICS Nairobi with the Italian Cultural Institute (IIC) of Nairobi and the Italian Embassy in Kenya. This campaign was held in conjunction with the global 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign, aiming to stimulate debate on combating GBV and related issues such as promoting equal opportunities, gender stereotypes, the effects of climate change on gender issues, and respecting the rights of girls and young women. To achieve this goal and to facilitate the broad dissemination of awareness messages to different segments of Kenyan society, a series of events were held through various channels, including theater, a national forum, a stand-up comedy event, a workshop, and a photographic exhibition, reaching over 1,000 people.
