Abstract: Femicide cases among female students have continued to rise despite universities and the country establishing various policies to prevent, and respond to femicide. The study explored the perceptions, attitudes and opinions of the community towards femicide in the University of Nairobi, Nairobi County. The study adopted a descriptive research design methodology using a mixed-methods approach integrating both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis techniques. Stratified and cluster sampling were applied to get the quantitative sample size, while purposive sampling was used to sample key informants and focus group discussants. Majority of respondents were female (65.0%) while male constituted of 35.0% relatively distributed across four academic years. About 73.5% understood the meaning of femicide, and 93.4% felt it was a serious societal problem. The study established that femicide is a gradual progress shaped by unequal power relations, social norms, violent relationship dynamics. The study recommends that the university should promote healthy masculinity and positive relationship engagement; introduce anonymous reporting channels where witnesses and victims can report without fear of victimization; and the government should ensure that gender laws and regulations and enforced.

Abstract: Violence against men is a frequently overlooked facet of gender-based violence (GBV), with discussions predominantly centered around women’s experiences. This oversight leads to the misperception that men do not endure violence. This paper aims to delve into the barriers, including traditional gender norms, stigma, and institutional bias, that obstruct men from disclosing their experiences with violence. It underscores the urgent need to reshape societal perceptions of masculinity and foster inclusivity. Focusing on Kisumu Central Sub-County, the study investigates community awareness of available reporting structures for male victims of violence and analyzes how prevailing societal attitudes and socialization practices impede help-seeking behaviors among men. Employing a phenomenological research design informed by hegemonic theory, the research targeted male survivors aged 18 and above, utilizing purposive and saturation sampling methods to gather data. The qualitative data was analyzed thematically to extract meaningful insights. The findings reveal a considerable lack of awareness regarding the reporting of violence against men, heavily influenced by societal norms that marginalize male victims. The emphasis on emotional stoicism further deters men from seeking help, perpetuating silence around their experiences of violence. This study highlights the critical need for awareness campaigns and support systems tailored to male victims. By addressing these barriers, communities can encourage men to speak out and seek the assistance they need, ultimately promoting a more inclusive perspective on gender-based violence.

Abstract: Vehemence is largely an extreme human attribute, hence not new to Africa. However, violence is culturally relative, determined and handled. This means that culture is at the epicenter of gender instituted violence and schemes that curtail or control it. A people’s epistemologies, metaphysics and cosmology are central to their behavior, notion of sexuality and gender relations. Africa is therefore a relatively unique grouping of humanity that has a unique philosophy and world view, tendencies, attributes, behaviors and conceptualization of gender and gender relations. This paper therefore explores the nature of gender-based violence in the African human landscape, its characteristics, causes and strategies of managing it. The research adopts the Cultural Relative Determinism Theory, which is a hybrid conceptual framework comprising Cultural relativism and Cultural Determinism tenets. The theoretical framework acknowledges how different human beings of variant cultures differ in the conceptualization of gender-based violence and strategies adopted to deal with it. This paper underscores that Africa has its own understanding of gender, violence and solutions to challenges surrounding Gender-based conflicts which are different from those of Eastern and Western countries. In so doing, the paper recommends for the understanding of the relative nature of gender-based violence across human societies and prescribe relative correctional measures, rather than generalizing theories across humanity. The paper also recommends pragmatic understanding of the nature of gender-based violence in the globalized Africa seeing how much Africa has shifted from its axis and how it can adapt its old strategies to conform to a new world order with universal rights and democracy.