Videos Release: Survivors Speak

In partnership with the Civil Society Organisation Network (CSO-Network) and Grace Agenda, the Global Survivors Fund (GSF) is releasing three videos on "The Impact of Electoral-Related Violence in Kenya - More than 10 years on”. The testimonies featured echo the experiences of other victims of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence across the world.

These videos were created in the light of the “Survivors Speak” conference, which took place in Kenya this year on June 22, in commemoration of the 7th International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict. The conference provided a platform for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence to share their testimonies, perceptions and reflections on the issue of reparations and their participation in the process.

The Survivors Speak Video was first projected during an online side event of the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly entitled “Reparations for Survivors of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence: Status and Prospects”, at which the Global Survivors Fund presented the preliminary findings of its Global Reparations Study across over 20 countries. To learn more about the Kenya country briefing, click here.

Two more videos are released today to showcase the important work to be done with national authorities in the pathway to reparations.

Joining forces on the closing of the 16 days of activism against Gender-Based Violence, GSF and its partners are pleased to publish these videos. As a compilation of testimonies of Election-Related Violence Survivors, they are the most powerful acknowledgement of their traumatic experiences and they also shed light on the critical challenges and obstacles that remain for survivors to be heard and acknowledged.

The videos serve as a call for action to the national authorities and the international community to provide the appropriate reparative, survivor-centered measures. They also illustrate that the road to reparations is possible.

 

Background

Conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) has been systemic in Kenya since colonial times. Entrenched political and ethnic tensions fomented in this period have led to broader episodes of violence and massacres where perpetrators of sexual violence, have included British soldiers during colonialism to government security agents and militias during the pre- and post-electoral violence in 2007-8 and 2017. In spite of several National Commissions producing extensive reports on these cycles of violence, including CRSV, a culture of impunity has left most CRSV survivors without any form of reparation as yet.

 

For more information

The Global Survivors Fund (GSF) was established in October 2019 at the initiative of Dr Denis Mukwege, Ms Nadia Murad and survivors from around the world. GSF aims to improve access to reparations and other forms of redress for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence. It establishes interim reparations measures for survivors in countries where the authorities are unwilling or unable to take responsibility. GSF also provides support and technical assistance to governments wishing to establish reparations programmes, and advocates at national and international levels. Its survivor-centred approach is at the heart of its work.

 

For enquiries about the videos, please contact:

Maud Scelo, Head of Communications at GSF

mscelo@globalsurvivorsfund.org

+33 6 48 23 08 43