Breaking the Silence on SGBV in Sports in Kenya

By: Eunice Dollar, Executive Director, SLYI

 

A recent study by the Aga Khan University’s Graduate School of Media and Communications (GSMC) revealed a high prevalence of SGBV against women athletes in East Africa. The study launched in June 2025 reported that 69% of women had experienced SGBV, up from 43% in 2022.

The report further stated reasons why this practice is perpetrated, citing sporting, social and cultural factors. In Kenya, gender inequality and patriarchal attitudes have been identified as the leading factor (34%), followed by lack of consequences for the perpetrators (20%), and silence and denial within the sport community (15 %).

Data around SGBV is East Africa and Kenya in particular underline the pervasive nature of violence in the sports landscape. SLYI has been working with stakeholders to target the ill at the root, by ending the silence which acts as a fertilizer to the growth of cases of SGBV in Kenya.

The initiative by SLYI focused on four main objectives: sensitizing sports federation officials on gender equality, forming gender working committees, amplifying the voices of survivors, and strengthening mechanisms for investigating and prosecuting cases of gender-based violence in sports. To achieve this, SLYI partnered with the Ministries of Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports, Gender and Culture, as well as the Ministry of Education and Health.

So far, the organization has conducted two major awareness workshops attended by 46 federation officials. These sessions not only raised awareness about SGBV but also laid the groundwork for the establishment of two County Sports Gender Technical Working Groups, pioneering structures in Kenya that will guide policy and advocacy within sports clubs and schools. In addition, SLYI disseminated the landmark to 53 key stakeholders, ensuring that critical recommendations on safeguarding athletes are integrated into reforms and practice.

Beyond policy, SLYI has been working at the grassroots to identify and support survivors of SGBV, while also honoring their stories to push for implementation of the . Community outreach has extended to more than 2,500 people, amplifying knowledge on safeguarding, reporting, and prevention.

With clear progress and growing partnerships, Smart Ladies Youth Initiative is setting a precedent for tackling SGBV in sports—not only in Kisumu and Migori, but as a model that could be scaled across Kenya and Africa.

Initiatives like these contribute to FON’s mandate to eradicate gender-based violence worldwide through flexible funding. The Feminist Opportunities Now (FON) project aims to strengthen feminist movements by providing grants, particularly to small, unregistered organizations. Smart Ladies Youth Initiative is one of 14 CSOs who work FON supports in Kenya.

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The Feminist Opportunities Now project contributes to the eradication of gender-based violence across 3 continents and 10 countries through flexible funding. FON aims to strengthen feminist movements by providing grants, particularly to small, unregistered organizations. With a budget of 7 million euros, the project includes a capacity strengthening component to ensure the expansion and sustainability of these approaches.