Insecurity and Indignity: Womens Experiences in The Slums of Nairobi, Kenya

This report is issued as part of Amnesty International’s global Demand Dignity Campaign. It follows an initial Amnesty International research report on the housing situation in Nairobi’s slums. The report finds that solutions proposed by the government to improve access to essential public services, including sanitation do not fully take into account the specific needs of women and girls in informal settlements. Amnesty International recommends that the Kenyan government urgently addresses the issue of gender-based violence in the informal settlements. This includes addressing inadequate access to sanitation and public security services as major contributing factors to various forms of violence that women face. The information in this report was gathered during a period of three months’ research which included four weeks of field research in four of Nairobi’s over 200 slums and informal settlements – Kibera, Mathare, Mukuru Kwa Njenga and Korogocho. Interviews were conducted with women, local and international non-governmental organizations and community-based organizations, officials in a number of government ministries and from the local authority, Nairobi City Council, Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company, Athi Water Services Board and representatives of the Kenya police.

Post Date : 28 Juli 2010