The serene environment of swaying trees and greenery within the hospital invokes feelings of freshness and harmony as we head towards the Gender-Based Violence Clinic, at the Centre for Health Solutions – Kenya (CHS) supported Nyahururu County Referral Hospital. “We attend to over 50 victims of violence every quarter. A high percentage of our clients are young girls who have been sexually assaulted,” narrates Margaret Muhia, the Nurse in-Charge of the GBV clinic at the hospital. Tacked in a central location within Laikipia County, the hospital is listed among the high-volume facilities in the county serving thousands of residents.
*Wangechi and her daughter *Nyambura are patiently waiting outside the visitors’ bay at the clinic. Nyambura is back for a medical review and trauma counselling session.
Recalling that Fateful Night
When Wangechi* got wind that her 15 year old daughter had been missing for close to five hours her heart skipped a beat. With the rising number of femicide cases in Kenya in mind, relentless thoughts crossed her mind on the possibility of never seeing her daughter alive again. “I had travelled to my mother’s house the day before. I had left Nyambura in the care of her father and brothers,” remembers Wangechi.
“I heard a loud knock on the door followed by my mother’s voice screaming, the man lying beside me held my mouth shut and threatened to hurt me if I made a sound. He had raped me three times. Hearing my mother’s voice was reassuring, at last help had come,” recalled Nyambura.
Hours later, Wangechi and a few villagers forced the door open, it was 3:00 AM. “The man ran out. I was mad, but the joy of seeing my daughter alive overshadowed all those feelings. I looked at my daughter and the bloodstains on the bed and I knew immediately that she needed to see a doctor,” said Wangechi. It was, however, very late they had to wait for dawn to travel to the Nyahururu County Referral Hospital.
The perpetrator was a man well known to Nyambura and her family. He had on several occasions privately expressed his feelings for her and asked for her hand in marriage which she declined as she was still a student. “We had agreed that he would wait until I finished high school. Unknown to me he was a beast and he had other plans, which became evident when he forced himself on me that night,” narrated Nyambura, who was heading to her grandmother’s place when the perpetrator coerced her into his house.
The first few visits to the hospital were hard for Nyambura, she could barely express herself without crying or getting flashing thoughts of what had happened that night. “I was always scared and constantly worried but as time went by I gained confidence. Counselling really helps me, talking to Margaret and listening to all the stories she tells me encourages me to deal with my feelings and fears, I am not alone I feel the support” said Nyambura.
Trauma Counselling for Victims of Sexual Violence
“Trauma counselling is very important for victims of violence, the number of counselling sessions required is different for each individual and is often informed by the degree of psychological trauma, as a trained counsellor I am able to identify client needs and their ability to deal with the trauma, this informs how I handle the victim” said Margaret.
With support from the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), CHS complements and strengthens the government’s efforts towards ensuring victims of violence receive holistic services. Through Tegemeza Plus, Naishi and Shinda projects CHS has supported over 25,000 victims of gender-based violence through proper clinical management, trauma counselling, psychosocial and legal support.
CHS, through the recommendations of the National Guidelines on Management of Sexual Violence in Kenya, ensures that the trauma counselling entails;
- Initial de-briefing with the survivor
- HIV pre-test counselling
- HIV post-test counselling
- Counselling on emergency contraception and unwanted pregnancies
- Psycho-education
- Adherence to follow-up sessions
- Psychosocial support e.g. support groups for survivors, family and relatives
- Information giving on survivors’ rights, legal redress and referral linkages
The stabilization of the survivor is an important step at the beginning of the counselling process. Stabilization to the victim getting a sense of “being grounded” back on their feet again, emotionally and socially. Emotional stabilisation means mending the identity of the traumatised person. (National Guidelines on Management of Sexual Violence in Kenya – 3rdEdition 2014)
*Names changed to protect the survivor’s identity
Nyambura’s case was reported to the police, the documents required for the judicial process were provided, they await the court hearing as of July 2, 2019.