Where power violates: Sexual violence as a tool of political control
by admin on | 2025-07-02 05:57:51 Last Updated by admin on 2025-07-03 09:04:55
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Much of the world has historically viewed Kenya as an island of peace and economic potential in a roiling sea of stateless chaos, genocide, dictatorships, child soldiers, and decades-long civil war. However, present day Kenya is witnessing a troubling regression in its human rights landscape, particularly in relation to the freedom of speech and expression. Disgraceful acts once believed to have been left behind, those that echo the darkest days of authoritarian rule, are re emerging with disturbing frequency. The Kenya that once prided itself in having one of the most progressive constitutions in Africa is steadily smothering its democratic promise. Leaders no longer welcome critique or public discourse, instead, they demand applause. Anyone who offers a counter-opinion or airs dissatisfaction in the systems or leaders is no longer treated as a fellow citizen exercising a constitutionally protected right, but as an enemy of the state deserving punishment. And the punishment, when not outright detention or disappearance, has become even more insidious: sexual violence. Sexual violence, a form of torture often used in the shadows, is increasingly being deployed as a political weapon against dissenters. It is a calculated strategy, designed to shame, to silence, and to break the will of those who dare speak truth to power In a society where such violations carry deep personal, cultural, and communal shame, the use of rape, sodomy, and other forms of sexual torture as political tools is particularly cruel. It weaponizes stigma.2 It counts on the silence of survivors and this is exactly what the perpetrators seek to achieve. It thrives on the fear that even speaking out will invite shame, mockery, judgment, or social exile. “Uhuru kwa wote” has now morphed into “Adabu kwa wote.” The message intended is clear. If you raise your voice, we will violate your body.
1.0 Why is it a tool of political suppression?
Sexual violence occurs whenever a person is forced, coerced, and/ or manipulated into any unwanted sexual activity and includes rape, sodomy, genital mutilation, forced nudity, sexual humiliation, and other acts meant to degrade or violate an individual’s bodily autonomy.3 It is a crime not typically motivated by sexual desire but by the desire to control, humiliate, and/or harm.4 On top of the physical torments sexual violence inflicts, it also has serious and far reaching consequences for the mental health of victims. Survivors often grapple with intense trauma, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. At the psychological level, it leads to radical changes in the image that the victim has of themselves, in their relations with their immediate social circle and beyond, in the community as a whole...Read more
