This year, more access to justice was created because of your support of the Equality Effect. Thank you for your invaluable e² support throughout 2025. Together we are turning off the rape tap, so that mopping the rescue floor is no longer necessary.
Here are five of our favourite 2025 e² equality moments:
1.Launching the 160 Girls Prosecution & Judicial training programs.
Success indicators include 100% of trainees to date reporting that they would recommend the 160 Girls training to a colleague. Reflecting on its impact, the Kenya Director of Public Prosecutions described 160 Girls as “balancing unwavering legal rigor with empathetic execution, these efforts (160 Girls Project) promise to reshape defilement prosecutions, ensuring that justice serves as a beacon of hope and restoration for those it aims to protect.”.
2.Celebrating equality excellence across the e² community.
This year, e²’s Curriculum Coordinator Dr. Ruth Nekura won Civil Society Lawyer of the Year (Law Society of Kenya) and e²’s 160 Girls counsel Muthomi Thiankolu won Law Firm of the Year (Law Society of Kenya).
The 160 Girls project was also one of two initiatives highlighted at the International Development Innovation Alliance Global Summit Reception in Nairobi and was invited to Bogota, Columbia to participate in an international equality forum as a leader in human rights impact measurement. Additionally, 10 young 160 Girls Virtual Justice Club (VJC) leaders received the Dr. Ngeyi Kanyongolo human rights leadership award.
3.The growing impact of 160 Girls Virtual Justice Club (VJC) leaders.
More than 506 VJC leaders created equality change this year by distributing 24,880 160 Girls Justice Journals to community members. For example, Ethan who provided advocacy support to his 9 year old friend and neighbour Tracy, enabling her to seek access to justice with the support of her family. This led to an arrest and prosecution initiated and completed within 6 months of reporting (we are waiting for the judicial decision in this case). Ethan volunteered to escort Tracy to school and home after she was assaulted. Ethan told us he “just wanted Tracy to feel safe.” Ethan was one of the Dr. Ngeyi human rights leadership awardees.
4.Justice sector collaboration.
The dovetailing of justice sector change as 160 Girls trained police, prosecutors and judges are now working together to ensure access to justice for rape survivors, “creating equality change that will be felt for generations to come”, as one judge described the impact.
5.Justice delivered.
Every year e²’s 160 Girls project influences hundreds of defilement cases across Kenya. One result stands out this year. Janet was 9 years old when she was violently raped. Her friend Emily, a VJC leader, provided Emily and her family with advocacy support, and helped them to report to the police, who had received the 160 Girls training. The perpetrator was arrested, prosecuted and convicted on charges of sexual assault and aggravated assault, receiving two life sentences. Janet has since returned to school and is thriving with the support of her VJC friends. Janet’s mother describes the justice secured as follows: “From the time of the attack up to today (the day the verdict and sentence were delivered) I was in pain, but today is the end of it.”.
We are deeply grateful for the continued loyalty and commitment of e²’s invaluable partners, donors/funders, volunteers, and staff, who make e²’s unique, systemic, human rights work possible. Together we are revolutionizing the legal treatment of child rape.
