Societal Shocks and Gender-Based Violence Among Vulnerable People in Kibra and Other Informal Settlements Around Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on peace is unfolding. While some forms of violence declined in the short-term, growing unease with lockdowns and rising economic uncertainty resulted in civil unrest and violence increasing in 2020. According to the 2021 Institute for Economic and Peace, over 5000 pandemic-related violent events were recorded between January 2020 and April 2021. They outline that the pandemic has had a devastating impact on socioeconomic development in many countries. In 2020, the economic impact of violence to the global economy was USD 14.96 trillion in purchasing power parity terms. This is equivalent to 11.6% of the world’s economic activity or USD 1942.00 per person. In Kenya, the 2020 National Crime Research Centre revealed that socioeconomic shocks caused by COVID-19 increased violence—especially gender-based violence (GBV)—among people living in Kibra, Nairobi’s largest informal settlement, as well as other slums located in the city. Between January and June of 2020, 71% of the 2416 cases of GBV reported were female victims. The main perpetrators of GBV are youthful males aged 18–33 years who are in the context of a family or intimate partner relationship. This chapter will look at the social structures that increase the vulnerability of people living in Nairobi’s slums in comparison to the other parts of the country. Specifically, it utilizes Galtung’s classification of direct, structural, and cultural violence framework to analyze structures to increase resilience of people in informal settlements in the context of COVID-19, so as to suggest policy directions that can foster institutions and structures that create and sustain peaceful societies.