Peace Initiative Kenya CESS C U PIK S Y STOR H ONT M E H OF T 14
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Supporting Survivors of Sexual Violence: The Case of Gender Based Violence Helpline 1195 Story, photo and graphics design by: Valine Moraa
In June 2014, John the father of a seven year old girl, called GBV helpline 1195 to seek advice and help. His daughter, together with two of her friends aged nine and twelve, had been sexually defiled by a neighbor. According to John, the perpetrator aged 23 had attacked the girls on several occasions. “He had threatened to kill the girls if they ever revealed the matter to their parents,” reports John, “My wife and I knew our daughter was not okay when we noticed that she was walking with difficulty. We inquired from her as to why she was walking that way and that is when she opened up and told us what had been happening. My wife checked her only to find that she had bruises on her genitals. This broke our heart and left us worried.” John quickly reached out to the parents of the other two girls to find out if their daughters had undergone the same ordeal. When it was confirmed by the parents, they knew they needed to take their children to hospital for immediate treatment. “But we couldn’t afford the medical expenses for our children’s treatment. Luckily, I recalled about GBV helpline 1195 being run by Peace Initiative Kenya project partner- HealthCare Assistance Kenya (HAK). I had heard about it on radio a year and half ago, and that the toll free helpline supports survivors of sexual violence at no cost. I called the number and reported what had happened,” says John.
ment, but thanks to the support of 1195, my daughter and her friends were able to receive good, speedy medical attention. The other affected parents have also expressed their gratitude and together we were able to reach out to 3 other sexual violence affected families within our locality in Changamwe location, Mombasa County and referred them to helpline 1195 for assistance.” The perpetrator is currently still in custody, since the matter is already in court. “Concrete evidence has been provided against the perpetrator and we are confident that the court will find him guilty and sentence him to jail for a very long time,” says an emotional John. Story point of interest
GBV Helpline 1195 is supported by USAID funded project, Peace Initiative Kenya (PIK). It provides first line of response for victims and survivors of GBV by providing quick information to callers on where to receive medical care, police services, legal aid as well as psychosocial counseling among others. The call center also follows up on cases to ensure referrals are made as much as it is possible
The name John is a pseudonym (not real name) used to preserve the privacy of the affected person.
“Through the helpline, we were referred to Makadara District hospital which is within our locality and later to the police station to report the violation which led to the launch of investigations against the perpetrator,” informs John. At the hospital, John says that with the support of helpline 1195, the girls received free medical and psychosocial services. A comprehensive medical report was also done to all the affected children by a doctor at the same hospital without any charges. “The report indicates that indeed the girls had been defiled on several occasions," confirms John. John says that his family is grateful to helpline 1195 for coming to their aid at their most needy time. “No hospital would have attended to us without pay-
Helpline 1195 call center responding to calls