*Strive towards a gender-equitable society *
Brief
Gender equality is one of the key areas PTN highly takes interest in. It advocates for and cultivates the culture of equality through holding public themed forums and training. We ensure both genders have a fair chance of being represented in our programs.
Activity Highlights
Sex Trafficking Prevention
In 2020, PTN recognized a trend in the past year on matters arising that cases of violations that took the form of human trafficking kept being mentioned. Coincidentally, its in the year 2019 that Kwale County had been ranked top in Human Trafficking at the coast by the state department of labor. It being a border county has contributed to the rise of this illicit trade that takes the form of sexual or labor exploitation or both.
In a bid to respond to this issue, PTN in partnership with Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) commenced the implementation of the project on Sex Trafficking Prevention.
Prevention Of Sex Trafficking Training
The trainings held in the months of May and July at Msambweni and Matuga Sub-county respectively, accommodated in total 40 participants. These included village elders, vulnerable young men and women, commercial sex workers, survivors of sex trafficking and artists.
Some of the topical issues that emerged included consent Vs Conjugal rights, the possibilities of being trafficked by intimate partner, how to differentiate a case of prostitution from sex trafficking, how to protect and rescue loved ones from these situations, where else to report these cases since the security systems are flawed among others. Its during these emerging issues that bulb moments could be spotted, especially during the sharing of personal stories that had many feel safe enough to be vulnerable.
Their had been instances when the room went silent as some people shared their pain of the realization that they too had been victims but did not know. It was saddening for others to acknowledge that some of the cultures they religiously followed like early child marriages made them perpetrators unawares. It is said that the pressures of life can have you commit crimes and serve jail time rather clueless, this was the case of beach boys whose intent of introducing girls to the mzungus at the shores came from a heart that sought to better the girls lives but they did not know that by doing this, they would rightly be assumed of the title pimps.
Going by the reactions, one may deduce that indeed these trainings were quiet timely. One thing is clear that more still needs to be done. Partnerships now more than ever among stakeholders working in this field is paramount if a 360 degrees solution will be offered, i.e. protection, prevention, prosecution and reintegration.
In Broad Daylight
a) #InBroadDaylight Forum
Having the voice of Kwale County represented fully in the forum through pertinent discussions and perfomances is what we strived for in this forum. This activity served as a wrap up for the first phase that entailed workshops. This involved a prerecorded forum that brought together a panel strategically constituted of different people working within the trafficking space in Kwale County. The panelists and survivors were convened on the 6th of September 2021 at Southern Cottages for the pre-recordings of the forum and podcast; Followed by a pre-recording of performances and a short feature film on the 7th of September 2021.
The panelists included Mrs Wanjiru Ndung’u an Activist, Consultant and Coordinator of Kwale Paralegals Network, Mr. Paul Adhoch, Executive Director Trace Kenya, Ms. Ann Okello – Child and Psychosocial Counselor proficient in trauma counseling, Survivors of human trafficking and a beach operator. While the artists feartured were Malenga Wa Kaya, Cardiac Poet, Revolutionary Spitter, Coastal Queen and Kim The Poet. Most of these guests if not all had attended the trainings and as such had been selected from the pool of participants.
The main aim for this activity was to not only discuss pertinent issues surrounding human trafficking in Kwale County but to also emphasis on the need to curb sex trafficking in Kwale County. The forum yielded a safe space for discussions while the artistic perfomances gave a unanimous call to action and deeply compounded lessons communicated during the workshops in the best of ways. The discussions touched on the causes and effects of sex trafficking and the positioning of the lawregarding the same. Safe Migration was aslo touched on as ameans of safeguarding oneself from becoming a victim. The pre-recordings are available on Peace Tree Network Youtube and Facebook Pages.
b) #InBroadDaylightPodcast
The BOYZ Chamber series
Topic: Marriage and GBV
Many times when GBV in marriage is mentioned, we think of the women as victims. But what about the 576,000 plus men who have to re-think finding help as victims for the fear of stigmatization?
PTN, under the Men: Hear Our Voices, held its 2nd edition of the #BoyzChamber series to explore the topic of marriage and GBV. In the panel was Dan Matakaya, a survivor of an acid attack by the wife that left him blind; And with a desire to rescue men facing domestic violence hence the Dan ShiShie Foundation
We also got a chance to explore conversations around getting married at a younger age, raising children out of wedlock, dowry, name change after marriage among others, The conversation took place on PTN’s YouTube and Facebook Pages.
This conversation garnered 6.4 Million impressions on Twitter under the #TheBoyzChamber