Nicole was recently at home listening to the radio, when she heard a story of a local girl that was brutally raped. This sounded like a one of her schoolmates, Emily. She immediately knew she wanted to help Emily seek justice.
Now, what makes Nicole unique is that at 11 years old, she is a 160 Girls Virtual Justice Club (VJC) leader. This meant that she was empowered with the knowledge that no child should experience rape and the perpetrator should be brought to justice, to deter future rapes in their community.
All children have the right to be free from rape.
Nicole, equipped with knowledge and confidence, rushed to Emily’s home to offer her advocacy support. Assisted by Nicole, Emily and her mother bravely reported her assault to the police.
VJC leaders are taught their rights through a 6-month human rights education and community engagement program. Youth follow e² developed human rights curriculum, done virtually in their homes. They also come together to distribute a bi-weekly human rights education newspaper amongst the community.
Emily could feel safe to go to the police with Nicole’s support. The police are actively working to bring Emily’s perpetrator to justice.
Emily can feel confident that the police are working hard on her case. The equality effect’s partnership with the Kenyan National Police Service (NPS) over the past 10 years has resulted in:
10 year celebration of 160 Girls Project . PHOTO BY BRIAN OTIENO/STORITELLAH.COM
81 % of child rape victims now see their perpetrator arrested within 3 months.
When we talk to Emily today, she beams as she speaks to the kindness Nicole showed her. She shyly tells us about how special she felt to have an older schoolmate come to her rescue. She shares how important the police made her feel through the difficult process of reporting her story. Emily has not been forced to endure the past stigma associated with child rape.
Without Nicole’s support, Emily may never have came forward to the police. She may never have felt the community wrap around her and her family to demand justice.
Nicole feels like a hero!
With what she learned as a VJC leader she was able to help her schoolmate, bringing her one step closer to justice.
Nicole describes the pride that she feels in “walking alongside the police.”
“I felt very sad because Emily was in pain, but I am happy we referred to the police, and she got help. I am happy she is healing well and now we can play together.”
Nicole & Emily’s story demonstrates the success of the 160 Girls project to date in empowering youth leaders to demand access to justice for rape survivors. Peers supporting peers is the heart of the 160 Girls VJC program.
We now must ensure the next stage in Emily’s pursuit of justice is successful.
Rights are not real until they are enforceable.
We recognize that many rape victims describe the experience of revictimization through the justice system as worse than the rape itself.
This can’t happen to Emily, or any child rape survivor.
This is why we are beginning to work with the Kenyan Prosecution and Judiciary to ensure e²’s transformative change making strategies are employed throughout the entire justice system.
Keep an eye out for more details on this exciting next step in ensuring access to justice for all 10,500,000 Kenyan girls, and beyond.
*Pseudonyms have been used in this story*
