Poverty, drug and substance abuse, poor parenting and mental health have been singled out as major factors contributing to defilement, rape and suicide incidences in Makueni County.

Other factors included economic inequality, women getting involved in love affairs outside their marriage, and cultural beliefs that put a lot pressure on men in the community.

The revelations were made by members of the public, elected and opinion leaders and civil society during a public participation forum when the Gender Based Violence (GBV) and Femicide Taskforce visited Makueni County on Friday.

“We cannot rule out poverty is a major contributor to GBV and suicide. Poverty levels are high in the county,” said Makueni Woman Representative Rose Museo during a public participation at Wote Technical Training Institute on Friday.

Museo particularly took issue with defilement of minors saying such incidences destroyed the lives of children completely and it was time to address the problem which is impacting negatively on the girl child in the county.

In this regard, she called for concerted efforts from all elected leaders, members of the public, civil society and government agencies to address the problem.

“It is shameful to have a country where men defile children, rape women and kill them. Please stop defiling young children as you destroy their lives completely,” she lamented.

“Leaders and all stakeholders need to come together and find a lasting solution to this,” the Woman Representative said.          

Speaking on behalf of the People with Disabilities (PWDs), Agnes Kilonzo narrated how the girls and women were defiled and raped saying they are unable to run or defend themselves from the rapists.

The taskforce was led by Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Faith Odhiambo who revealed that from statistics available, the most affected age group was “between 10-18 years old where we had 378 cases last year”.

During the meeting, it was also disclosed that PWDs, women and girls were the most affected while boys were also said to have been sodomized.

On her part, Makueni Deputy Governor Lucy Mulili said the most affected by GBV were women and children with men as the perpetrators of the vice in the county.

Speaking at the same event, Makueni County Commissioner (CC) Duncan Darusi said that the information the public would give would inform the government on the policy to make in tackling the vices dogging the country.

Darusi further said that besides identifying the gaps, they needed to forge a common way of addressing the problem affecting the community in terms of development and also give solutions.

“We must say the truth and identify where the problem is. You should not only identify the problem but give a solution to address the issues in the community,” said Darusi.

“In order for the society to achieve development, every gender should be brought on board. Each gender’s rights are guaranteed within the framework of the society; the family, community and the country at large,” added the administrator.

During the event, members of the public identified gaps saying they needed a forensic laboratory and experts to man it; they need enforcement done quickly besides cases taken to court to take short time so that justice is dispensed to the raped or defiled.

Among those who gave their views were the police, judiciary, probation officials, PWDs, civil society members, chiefs and village elders among others.

• A Tell Media / KNA report/ By Patrick Nyakundi