Women come out on twitter to name and shame rapists

Kenya’s patriarchal setup has often alienated and stigmatized the Kenyan female. This tends to happen when supporting and uplifting is what is actually needed. In a society where reporting sexual assault means your “morals and conduct” are scrutinized, places of solace are all but non-existent.

Taking action

In a bid to take back their power, Kenyan women have been taking steps to ensure justice is served. This was seen recently when a group of women took to the twitter streets to share their experiences and publicly declare their assailants.

Having gone through various forms of sexual assault, the group decided to cast a wide net. This was done by inviting anyone with a story to share. This prompted various responses, mostly admission of having gone through sexual assault. Throngs of people came forward in solidarity and to also share their experiences. One thing was however clearly evident, their assailants walk free to this day.

Long standing cases

Some of these cases went as far back as during their teenage years. The victims also tagged and posted pictures of the perpetrators.

One of the tagged assailants got word of the public allegations and callously responded. His response alluded that he made a mistake at a young age and should not be hounded by the ghosts of his past. This all but implicated him and proved that he did sexually assault her.

The length of the various timelines of assault clearly show that a crisis is upon the country. A country seemingly on the verge of a gender war. This is because the ladies expect more from the men yet the men claim misandry is the primary motivation for some statements. In some of the shared stories, the assailants’ male friends were aware of their actions but chose silence to honor the ‘bro code’. By making this choice, they turned their back on humanity.