Kenya: Women In Slums Vulnerable

From the Daily Nation:

Women and girls in Nairobi’s slums live under constant threat of sexual violence, a new report says.

Because of this, they are too scared to leave their houses to use communal toilets, says the report to be released on Wednesday by human rights group Amnesty International.

Titled Insecurity and dignity — women’s experiences in the slums of Nairobi, the report details how the government’s failure to incorporate slums in urban planning has resulted in poor access to services.

“Women in Nairobi’s settlements become prisoners in their own homes at night and sometimes well before it is dark,” AI East African researcher Godfrey Odongo says.

“They need more privacy than men when using the toilet or bathing and inaccessibility of facilities makes them vulnerable to rape.”

Mr Odongo says inability to access the limited communal toilets also puts them at risk of illness.