KIOS
Advancing Grassroots GBV Prevention and Accountability (2025–Ongoing)
The Advancing Grassroots GBV Prevention and Accountability initiative is an ongoing community-led governance and gender justice project implemented by the Hijabi Mentorship Program in Kwale County. The initiative is funded by the European Union through the KIOS Foundation under the Haki Ni Yetu (HnY) consortium.
The project was designed to strengthen grassroots participation, survivor-centered advocacy, legal literacy, and institutional accountability in the implementation of the Kwale County Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) Act, 2023.
Implemented across Kwale County, the initiative addresses persistent gaps in GBV prevention and response, including low legal awareness, weak enforcement mechanisms, underfunded survivor services, and limited public participation in governance and accountability processes.
The project combines legal literacy, media advocacy, public participation, survivor-centered approaches, and institutional strengthening to bridge the gap between policy and lived realities for women and girls in underserved communities.
Key Milestones & Strategic Focus
- Strengthening community legal literacy on the Kwale County SGBV Act through:
- Community awareness forums
- Simplified legal materials
- Translation of legal information into accessible formats and local languages
to improve public understanding of rights, protections, and accountability mechanisms.
- Advancing survivor-centered and trauma-informed advocacy approaches that promote:
- Confidential reporting pathways
- Psychosocial support referrals
- Legal literacy for survivors
- Community accountability and protection mechanisms
- Strengthening the capacity of:
- Grassroots activists
- Community leaders
- Duty-bearers
- Healthcare workers
- Law enforcement officers
through gender-sensitive training on GBV response, policy implementation, survivor-centered approaches, and accountability systems.
- Implementing the Gender Equality Champions Academy (GECA) as a platform for training youth leaders, grassroots advocates, and community mobilizers on:
- Gender equality
- Human rights
- GBV prevention
- Public participation and advocacy
- Survivor-centered response mechanisms
- Facilitating multi-stakeholder policy dialogues bringing together:
- County government officials
- Civil society organizations
- Survivors and community representatives
- Media actors
- Duty-bearers
to strengthen coordination and accountability around GBV prevention and response systems.
- Promoting public participation and budget advocacy to strengthen community engagement in:
- County governance processes
- GBV resource allocation
- Advocacy for shelters and survivor-centered services
- Expanding media and digital advocacy through:
- Radio discussions
- Storytelling campaigns
- IEC materials
- Community-centered communications
to increase public awareness and amplify grassroots voices on GBV accountability.
- Strengthening THMP’s institutional systems through investments in:
- Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL)
- Staff training on trauma-informed and human rights-based approaches
- Data collection and accountability systems
- Organizational governance and documentation tools
- Advancing disability-inclusive and intersectional advocacy approaches to ensure women, youth, survivors, and persons with disabilities are meaningfully included in governance and GBV response processes.
- Strengthening community legal literacy on the Kwale County SGBV Act through:
Strategic Contribution
This initiative is contributing to stronger grassroots accountability systems in Kwale County by empowering communities to understand, monitor, and advocate for implementation of the Kwale County SGBV Act.
By combining legal literacy, survivor-centered support, public participation, and institutional engagement, the project seeks to strengthen long-term community ownership, improve policy enforcement, and advance more responsive and accountable GBV prevention systems.
