Tech-fueled Gender-based violence rampant in Kenya's institutions of higher learning-study

The rapid study was conducted by the Collaborative Centre for Gender and Development (CCGD), in collaboration with the University of Nairobi Women's Economic Empowerment (WEE) Hub, and funded by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). 

While online violence has a wide reach, the study found that female students are disproportionately affected, with 64.4% of female students experiencing at least one type of online violence, compared to 35.5% for male students. 

"Female students are the primary targets of online attacks such as online defamation and non-consensual pornography, with long-term psychological, social, and economic consequences for those affected," stated CCGD Executive Director Masheti Masinjila. 

Personal conflicts and retaliation against the perceived anonymity of online interactions have been identified as triggers for technology-facilitated gender-based violence.

Tertiary institutions surveyed reported a lack of disciplinary, legal, and supportive measures to combat technology-facilitated gender-based violence. 

Low student awareness of these measures, combined with many people's failure to recognise online violence as a specific type of gender-based violence, has hampered institutions' efforts to address the issue.

Qualitative data gathered from various officers in Kenya's justice system, including the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the Police, and the Judiciary, reveals that law enforcement and justice institutions are struggling to keep up with the evolving forms of TF GBV, owing to severe resource constraints.

“Digitization is a global megatrend with great potential for achieving the development goals. We are however concerned that the online world is quickly becoming a new frontier for gender-based violence, and it is therefore imperative that we work together to make technology and digital spaces safe and equitable for all,” said UNFPA Representative Anders Thomsen. 

According to the studies, X, formerly Twitter, leads in online gender-based violence at 18.4%, followed by WhatsApp at 17.0%, Facebook at 16.8%, Telegram at 14.2%, Instagram/Threads at 14.0%, Tiktok at 13.7%, YouTube at 3.1%, SnapChat at 2.6%, and Tinder at 0.02%.

The most common types of TF GBV observed and experienced were online defamation (21.9%), cyberbullying (19.1%), and nonconsensual pornography (17.8%). 

According to the findings, the most common forms of TFGBV against female students are online defamation (34.4%) and non-consensual pornography (24.4%), while male students are more likely to experience online defamation (43%) and cyberbullying (39.4%). 

Male students (78.6%) were identified as the primary perpetrators of TF GBV, followed by female students (11.5%) and male teaching staff (5.4%).

“The findings from this study underscore the urgent need for targeted interventions to protect young people from technology-facilitated gender-based violence,” said the University of Nairobi WEE HUB Research Fellow Valarie Udalang. “We are committed to leveraging this research to advocate for policies and programs that effectively address TF GBV within our higher education institutions.”she added.

The researchers spoke to 728 respondents between October and December 2023. 

The respondents were drawn from three diverse tertiary institutions in Nairobi, including the University of Nairobi, Zetech University, and Kabete National Polytechnic. The institutions selected encompass a public university, a private university, and a technical institution. 

In consideration of the findings, parents, guardians and other partners of good will have been asked to  carryout social media vulnerability awareness on the youth before they set out  for Universities  and colleges citing vulnerability as a result of lack of knowledge.