Deputy Governor Makueni H.E Adelina Mwau (Center) leading talks on how to establish a gender based violence centre in Makueni when she met a delegation from the Nairobi Women Hospital’s Gender Violence Recovery Center at the Governor’s boardroom in Wote Town.Makueni Deputy Governor Adelina Mwau has announced plans by the county to partner with Nairobi Women’s hospital to establish a gender based violence recovery centre in Wote town.
Ms Mwau said that she is shocked at the horrendous nature of gender violence in the county adding that many women were getting battered and maimed or killed by violent spouses in the area.
She said that a significant number of cases of violated victims have been reported in various county facilities something she noted has raised quite an alarm.
“I am happy that the Nairobi Women hospital’s Gender Violence Recovery Centre is ready to partner with us in this initiative which I consider very nobble,”Ms Mwau said.
The Deputy Governor a pro-gender reforms crusader said that the level of violence against women in the county had hit a crescendo and called on the national government institutions including the administration and the police to work with victims in order to tame the vice.
“We are also concerned as a county government that many victims are not reporting their cases to the police as is required. We are appealing to the administrators especially chiefs and their assistants to be more proactive on this matter,” she said.
Reports on violence against women in the area have increased in the recent past. Local TV stations have been running stories showing badly battered women attacked by their spouses in various sub-counties in the area.
During a consultative meeting between the county and the Nairobi Women hospital in Wote town on Tuesday the Executive Director of the Gender Violence Recovery Centre Mr Albert Wambua said the organization is ready for partnership to develop the recovery center at the Makueni level 4 hospital.
“As an organization we want to say we are ready to support this idea. And we want to say that we are going to do our part to ensure we have a complete project for the Makueni County,” he said.
Makueni County Secretary and Head of Public Service Paul Wasanga said the county is in full support of the initiative adding that the idea is people centered and could not have come at a better time.
Said Mr Wasanga, “I want to commit that as a government we support this initiative. We have nominated government officers to a joint task force that will work out clear details and a develop a frame work of how the implementation will be done.”
Commenting on the matter,Makueni County Assembly speaker Douglas Mbilu said that the assembly will support the government by ensuring request to finance the construction of the center is approved.
“As leaders we are also concerned about the magnitude of this abuses. As the speaker I will support government initiatives to develop such a center even as we call for a major campaign against gender violence in this area,”Mr Mbilu said.
He said the situation had reached intolerable levels as many people had been killed or permanently disabled because of domestic violence.
