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KARE
CAN's partnership with KARE began in early 2009, when some of our volunteers joined in the legal struggle to bring justice to a young girl who was raped in the local community where we were working. The work this grassroots organization did was phenomenal, and CAN decided to make KARE its agent for the purposes of launching our Sex and Gender Based Violence Prevention Program. The program provides victims with emergency medical care, legal support as well as counselling services in order to allow for both justice and healing in cases that seldom get either in rural Kenya. It also conduct important work informing the community about the legal entitlements and rights of victims of abuse. KARE was made and is staffed by people from the community in which they work, which gives them unparalleled access and the ability to effect profound change in the area.
Our relationship with KARE allows us to operate in the areas of Kakamega District, Nyanza Province, Kenya. Their free services improve access to legal and medical assistance for victims in rural areas where who can seldom afford the services necessary for healing and justice. In addition, the project is aimed at working with community opinion leaders, partners and authorities within the target areas to create a coordinated response mechanism that can work for the victim in the face of abuse.
Legal Assistance
Many victims of the described violence and abuse lack the resources to acquire comprehensive legal redress. Most cases never make it to court, and some are thrown out because the victims don't have the funds to meet basic expenses for a case to proceed. Our agency relationship with KARE allows CAN to make available the resources necessary for victims to get a proper trial, such as legal fees, production of legal documents, and coordination of legal processes. The project also has a number of volunteer lawyers on call in the region to ensure that victims receive the necessary legal representation. Finally, KARE organizes public legal clinics where individuals with different complaints, concerns and queries can receive assistance, and where information regarding the rights of abuse victims is disseminated.
Medical and Clinical Assistance
The cases of gender and sex based violence that we receive often involve physical injury that requires immediate medical attention. In many of these cases, due to lack of effective assistance, some of the victims either do not survive or end up suffering permanent disabilities due to the associated trauma. CAN provides the funds needed for emergency care, and enters into cost sharing arrangements with victims for ongoing medical check ups in order to reduce the related adverse impacts of such abuses.
Community Mobilization and Sensitization
CAN believes that constant community sensitization is fundamental for the change of attitude required to reduce cases related to gender and sex based violence. To achieve this, we have KARE organize periodic public sensitization forums in the areas where such incidences have high prevalence rates. In many communities, the dangerous belief still exists that a man can be 'cured' of HIV/AIDS if he engages in sex with a virgin, or with many women. Hence there is a need for proactive approaches in addressing the lack of information and erroneous beliefs. Additionally, many women still remain unaware of the existing legal and human rights statutes that protect them from such abuses. KARE therefore gives presentations at local barazas (village meetings) and works as a resource centre for anyone seeking legal redress. Through its work, KARE increases consciousness of the resources available for communities to deal with instances of gender and sex related human rights abuses. |
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