No law, no justice: Report lays bare legal gaps in femicide

A report by the gender taskforce on GBV and femicide, presented to President William Ruto, has revealed serious legal and systemic failures hindering the fight against the vices.

The report by the Technical Working Group on Gender-based Violence Including Femicide says Kenya lacks a clear legal definition of femicide.

This, it says, has in turn led to inconsistent case handling and inability to collect meaningful data for prevention, response and accountability.

Kenya’s Penal Code, Cap 63, criminalises murder but does not recognise femicide as a distinctive form of GBV.

"This gap limits the prevention, which fails to address structural causes of gender-based killings, including intimate partner violence and dowry-related abuse," the report says.

The lack of a specific femicide law or formal recognition of femicide as a distinct crime is a gap, unlike in other jurisdictions such as Mexico, Malta and Cyprus, where femicide is explicitly recognised and addressed.

It says the gaps have subjected survivors of GBV to retraumatising justice processes and uncoordinated, trauma-insensitive services, where frontline responders lack appropriate training.

“Harmful cultural practices, including early childhood marriage, widow cleansing and beading, continue unabated, often rationalised as cultural rites despite years of awareness campaigns,” it says.

“Additionally, emerging forms of GBV are inadequately addressed in existing legal and policy frameworks and where provisions exist, implementation and enforcement remain weak.”

The report says families and community actors often obstruct justice by informally resolving GBV and femicide cases through clan elders or traditional systems.

These processes frequently involve coercion, victim-blaming and silencing of survivors, especially where bride price, family honour or kinship ties are involved, it said.

According to the report, this has undermined formal legal processes and perpetuated impunity.

At a global scale, Mexico became the first Latin American country to legislate against femicide through the General Law on Women’s Access to a Life Free from Violence (2007). The law defines the killing of a woman based on gender, including intimate partner violence, and mandates special investigation procedures for femicides.

Similarly, in Malta, the Prevention and Combating of Violence against Women and Domestic Violence and for Related Matters Law (2021) provides for measures to address GBV and femicide.

In 2022, Cyprus introduced an amendment to the Prevention and Combating of Violence against Women and Domestic Violence Law (2021), defining and criminalising femicide, reflective of its commitment to combat GBV in line with the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women.

Africa has also developed robust legal and policy frameworks that complement global efforts to address GBV and advance women's rights.

These regional instruments are grounded in Africa's unique socio-political realities and provide targeted commitments for state parties to eliminate violence against women and girls in all its forms.

They include Maputo Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol) which addresses the women rights and gender-based violence. The Protocol was ratified in Kenya in 2010.

“Without ratification, these frameworks remain non-binding, limiting the ability to address GBV in informal and domestic work settings where women are particularly vulnerable.”

 “The convention has a comprehensive framework for the prevention and elimination all forms of violence against women and girls across Africa and advocates for coordinated responses and provision of integrated services to victims and survivors,” it says.

The report has recommended ratification of the African Union Convent on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (AU-CEVAWG 2025), which recognises femicide as a distinct crime.