The Gender-Based Violence Recovery Centre (GBVRC) is an integrated, hospital-based model of care for survivors of sexual violence, located at the Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital (CGTRH) in Mombasa, Kenya. Established in 2007 through a collaboration between the International Centre for Reproductive Health-Kenya (ICRHK, the County Department of Health, and with support from Danida, the centre provides holistic, survivor-centered services, medical, psychosocial, and legal under one roof.
Our Goals
- Improve and strengthen clinical management of sexual violence
- Demonstrate the feasibility of integrated, multisectoral post-violence care in public hospitals
- Serve as a best-practice training and learning site for Kenya and beyond
Technical Approach
The centre offers comprehensive medical, psychosocial, and legal services to survivors of sexual violence and currently serves as a model and learning site for other GBVRC centers in public referral hospitals in Kenya. Clinical management and psychosocial support are provided by health service providers and counselors at the center. Additionally, paralegals attached to the center link survivors to the police gender desks while also conducting follow-ups of their cases in court. To date, the center has attended to 10,307 survivors of sexual violence.
How GBVRC Supports Survivors
- Emergency medical treatment
- Mental health and trauma counseling
- Legal aid and access to paralegal support
- Case referrals to police, courts, and community support systems
- Survivor follow-up and case tracking through court processes
Key Facts about the centre
- The GBVRC is integrated within a public health facility (CGT&RH) for 24/7 service delivery. It has well-trained staff dedicated to providing medical care, and referral facilities for mental care and legal support, in close collaboration with police, social services, and justice.
- Paralegals attached to the centre provide legal support and coordinate the process of bringing perpetrators to justice. They follow up at home, at the police stations, and during the court session for additional support and tracking progress in order to counter survivor fatigue.
- Over 70% of the survivors presenting at the centre are children (below the age of 18 years), and a child therapy room was established to respond to the psychosocial needs of children using play and art therapy.
- GBVRC, as part of a public health facility, reduces the threshold/stigma for all, especially for children and men who might have some reluctance/fear to present at a ‘women’s’ health centre or a stand-alone GBV clinic.
- The centre also has a facility ‘steering’ and community-based advisory committees drawing membership from community gatekeepers and actors such as healthcare workers, religious leaders, police, CHPs, CPVs, rescue centres, etc. These committees hold meetings quarterly to track progress, share updates, identify any gaps, and discuss how the same can be mitigated promptly.
Our Impact
- To date, the Centre has served over 10,000 survivors of sexual violence, receiving comprehensive post-SV services and information.
- The GBVRC is a learning site across counties for benchmarking and learning of best practices.
- Although seeking legal redress for sexual violence (SV) is a daunting process for survivors worldwide, the integration of paralegal services at the GBVRC has helped in improving better legal outcomes for the survivors.
- Over 50% of cases reported at the centre have proceeded to court, and among these, an estimated 20% had their judgment pronounced.
Partnerships and Collaborations
The program works closely with the following partners/key actors;
Ministry of Education, County Department of Health, Directorate of Children’s Services, Teachers Service Commission, Rescue Centers, Judiciary, National Police Service, State Department of Gender, Ministry of Interior (County commissioner’s office & the local administration), CSOs implementing child protection initiatives (World Vision, FIDA Kenya, Plan International, International Justice Mission) & Probono legal services: Clear Kenya
Publications
