Article by PBI-Kenya
The WHRD Toolkit Organizers involve their communities in the planning, designing, and creation of murals. They believe that the input of the communities is instrumental as the mural piece reflects the character, culture, and situation in the respective settlements.
During October and November 2020, the Women Human Rights Defenders Toolkit Organizers have been using murals to address the rise in child pregnancies and SGBV during Covid-19.
To make the process participatory, community members were involved in message harvesting and template development across Kawangware, Mukuru, Kibera, Langata, and Mathare. The painting was done with help from everyone willing. Afterward, there was an opportunity to discuss the murals in a town hall meeting.
In April of this year, they focused on SGBV responses. The mural messaging was around the multifaceted nature of responding to sexual and gender-based violence: everyone has a role to play in prevention and appropriate response to SGBV.
Further, the murals encouraged the community members to make use of emergency response mechanisms like the hotlines, especially during this Covid-19 when the movement has been affected by the curfew, leading to very limited access to SGBV support. This includes the use of toll-free numbers 1195 and 116.
PBI-Kenya helped develop the Toolkit for WHRDs in Nairobi’s Urban Settlements in 2016. The Toolkit Organizers network grew out of that. The network is comprised of fifteen women human rights defenders (including Kate and Editar) from the urban settlements of Kibera, Langata, Kawangaware, Mukuru, and Mathare.
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