Key partners

ICRHK

Donor

Hope for Girls, a Belgian-based organization

Period of implementation

2019 -2020

Location: Mombasa

Overview of the project

The project aimed at addressing gaps in knowledge and attitudes on sexual violence among primary school children aged 15 years and below in Mombasa. Tuongee is a Swahili word meaning “let’s talk.”.

The project supported SGBV clubs in schools. School children aged 12 to 17 years were taught about their rights to be protected from sexual violence, encouraged to identify potential sexual exploitation and inappropriate sexual advances, and supported to report SV when it occurred. ICRHK worked with police officers at gender desks, local leaders, and teachers to facilitate sessions during the clubs. Familiarizing children with first-line sexual violence responders in the community gave them the confidence to report and seek justice when SV happened.

Strategies and activities

Six schools in three sub-counties in Mombasa were selected to host #Tuongee clubs. Three teachers from each school attended a five-day training on GBV. They were trained on life skills clubs and supported the #Tuongee Clubs. Thereafter, each school held weekly club meetings. Two students from each school were selected to lead the clubs and serve as sexual violence peer educators, educating their fellow students on SV.

Impact

18 teachers were trained on sexual and gender based violence. 6 #Tuongee Clubs were established in 6 schools. 60 #Tuongee Club activities were conducted in total during the year and 7,688 school children from 6 schools were sensitized on sexual and gender based violence through poems, skits and dances.

The project developed a GIS map for sexual violence hotspots in Mombasa County. This provided a powerful visual tool to identify sexual violence hotspots and to advocate for prioritized interventions in the identified areas. The GIS map was developed using records of SV survivors from the GBVRC