Not This Girl appeal

Tackling violence against women and girls isn’t just about supporting survivors. It’s about changing attitudes and challenging the inequalities at the heart of gender-based violence. Thomas Ochieng is doing just that. He’s the station manager at Ruben FM, a community radio station in Mukuru - a large slum to the east of Nairobi. Alongside ActionAid partner, the Wangu Kanja Foundation, Thomas and his team are raising awareness about gender-based violence. They're using the airwaves to challenge sexual violence and get ActionAid's message out into the community. 

Peanut butter is a miracle spread. It makes smoothies creamier, bagels crunchier, and sauces richer. Oh, and melted peanut butter trickled over ice-cream is a life-changer. But for a group of Kenyan women, this humble spread is changing lives in a very different way. The spread is empowering women in Kenya who have set up a business to produce and sell peanut butter in their local community. Set up by the Wangu Kanja Foundation, an ActionAid partner, the peanut butter factory is helping women who have experienced sexual violence achieve financial independence and have the skills and knowledge to be their own boss.

"Hey, sexy!" Millions of women and girls around the world will have heard that phrase - or something like it - cutting into their daily lives, unwanted and uninvited, as they walk to work or get the bus to school. Some might say that it's harmless, just a joke, or perhaps even a compliment. But catcalling is none of those things. It's an explicit demonstration of power, one that is intended to frighten or intimidate the person it's addressed to. It is based in deep-rooted gender inequality, which sees women's bodies as not their own. 

Women and girls living in the poorest parts of the world are vulnerable to sexual and gender-based violence. Only a tiny minority of survivors report their cases to the police. Many are too afraid to speak out because of stigma, because they don't know their legal rights, or because they don't trust the police. Our Not This Girl appeal, supported by UK Aid Match, is empowering local women in Kenya to support survivors of sexual violence and bring perpetrators to justice. ActionAid is training local women, so they have the knowledge, skills and confidence to support survivors through the legal process. We want to introduce the police woman and empowered paralegals, who are helping survivors of violence and sexual abuse get the support they need.

Gender Defenders are courageous community volunteers, trained by ActionAid, who stand up to sexual and gender-based violence in Kenya. It's a name they came up with themselves, and one they bear with pride.From helping survivors reach hospital to navigating the legal system, each one – women and men – plays a vital role in preventing and responding to violence. Some are mums whose daughters have been raped. Others have personal experiences, like Alice, whose story I'd like to share with you.

Wangu Kanja is something of a pioneer. Years before the #MeToo movement, she was speaking out about sexual violence in the tough, urban context of Kenya's capital, Nairobi. Wangu was carjacked and raped in 2002 and when she went to report it to the police, she found they would not take her seriously.From this knockback, she realised that many of the poorest women in Kenya don't know what to do after surviving sexual assault - and never get the support and justice they deserve. This is made worse by stigma, shame and a culture of silence that stop women from asking for help. She decided things needed to change.