| Popis: |
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified violence and disparities among vulnerable populations, with women and girls, affected the most. Reports of violence against school-aged girls in the country did increase as a result of COVID-19. The increased vulnerability to various forms of gender-based violence (GBV) among school-going girls can be attributed to several factors, not limited to lockdowns, curfews, restricted movements, and school closures. When the pandemic forced students out of school, it risked not only reversing progress made in increasing girls’ equitable access to education, but may have also led to increased incidents of coercion, labour exploitation, sexual abuse, pregnancy, and early/forced marriage. The impact of COVID-19 was further heightened due to the lack of prioritization of GBV response at the onset of the pandemic. Methods: This qualitative study explores gender-specific experiences of GBV, education, social services, and sexual and reproductive health actors, including school-going girls, to the contribution of COVID-19 to the proliferation of GBV against school-aged girls in rural and low-income urban areas of Kenya. Using purposive sampling, 43 qualitative interviews were conducted with various key stakeholders from 10 counties across the country. Results: Researchers identified a number of health, social and economic consequences faced by school-aged girls as a result of COVID-19-related school closures. These negative impacts come with long-term consequences such as higher school dropout rates, an increase in teenage pregnancies, long-term health issues such as a rise in HIV and STDs among this group, and the accompanying mental, emotional and psychological trauma that often goes untreated.Conclusions: The lack of effective responses during the pandemic has led to poor sexual health outcomes and largely ineffective stay-in-school programming that failed to meet the goals of protecting girls from violence and keeping them in school. It is imperative to better understand rural and low-income urban girls’ experiences of COVID-19 in order to develop policies and support services and messaging tailored to the lived experiences of the girls during and after the pandemic that mitigates and does not exacerbate violence against them. |
