In the period January to March 2021, GVRC conducted follow up for two survivors who had been referred to Talia Agler girls’ shelter for shelter services and protection. The case studies for the above-mentioned survivors are as follows:
|
CODE |
BBR 2020 |
|
NATURE OF CASE |
Rape |
|
AGE |
20 Years |
|
LOCATION |
Kisii |
Social/family assessment:
Both parents are alive, but Brigit was brought up by her grandmother. Brigit has one sibling from a different father, but Brigit is the first born. Brigit mother gave birth to her when she was in class eight and she went back to school and the man who was responsible for the pregnancy refused to be responsible.
Intake
Brigit was referred to GVRC Rongai (Kajiado) branch by Kiserian police station. She was in accompanied by a policewoman.
The circumstances of the incident
BBR is a 20-year-old female currently living in Kiserian. She had gone to stay with her other grandmother away from the one who brought her up in Kisii. One day when Brigit was at home during the day, the uncle wrote a message to her telling her that he is on the way coming back. This did not bother Brigit although a lot of questions were crisscross her mind. On his arrival, he found Brigit and the 4-year-old baby watching the TV. The uncle told the boy to go and play from outside with chickens. Brigit decided to go to her bedroom and locked herself there. Since the uncle had spare key for the room, he easily opened the door and raped her. Brigit was afraid to tell anyone about the incident and since then, it became a routine for the uncle to rape her every time he needed to. The uncle raped her continuously for three months and it’s during the third month Brigit never received her monthly period. It really scared her and it is the time she decided to open up and tell her grandmother what was happening for the last two months. Brigit told the aunt she was afraid of telling her. The aunt got furious towards her and she requested her to call her mother so that she could come and listen to her. When the mother came, she was siding with the Brigit mother and told Brigit that she was the one who was seducing the grandfather.
Brigit mother stepped on Brigit phone until it was broken into pieces. The following day, the grandmother begged her to do abortion, but Brigit refused. After two days, the grandmother brought her two types of pills. The aunt showed her which one to put under the tongue and to put in her vagina. Brigit suspected the pills were for abortion because the grandmother told her she will see a lot of blood coming out from her vagina and therefore she should not be scared. When the aunt turned to get a sanitary towel for Brigit, she got a chance to hide all the pills. Since the grandmother was supposed to go to work, she left the husband to monitor the behavior of the girl. After 2 hours, Brigit decided to leave the house and look for help in the nearby police station. When Brigit was walking towards the gate, nobody bothered her and that is how she managed to escape. Brigit went to where she used to take her computer classes to seek for help. One of her classmates directed her to the nearby police station. Brigit spend one night in the police station and the next day she was referred to Nairobi women for medical checkup. In the hospital she expressed herself to the protection.
Treatment Plan
The survivor is being referred to Talia Agler Girls’ shelter (TAGs) where she will receive the necessary aid she requires.
Follow up was also done through phone. The survivor was now seven months pregnant. At this point, TAGS temporarily transfer the survivor to Kiota shelter. This is because TAGS do not have facilities to cater for delivery. On the other hand, Kiota specializes in taking care of pregnant girls and help them through delivery.
Follow up 3 – 18th, Feb 2021.
A physical visit paid to the shelter. The survivor was reported to have had a still birth. The survivor was grieved. She was still at Kiota shelter.
Follow up 4 – 16th, March, 2021
This follow up was made physically to the shelter. The survivor had returned to TAGS. Social assessment was done. She was still recovering from grieve after losing her child. She was taken through counseling session. Her main desire was to go back to her grandmother in Kisii. She wants to continue with her studies since she had a University admission letter to Masinde Muliro University.
Re-integration – 19th, March 2021
Brigit requested followed up. A communication was made to her grandmother and she was willing to take the girl back home. She was invited to Nairobi, where a social assessment was done. The grandmother was willing to take Brigit back to the university to continue with her education. She was finally allowed to take the survivor with her to Kisii. The survivor has since reported to be doing well, she is happy to be back home.