GBV taskforce recommends mandatory CCTV cameras in short-stay rentals, lodgings

The report reveals that 1,639 women were killed between 2022 and 2024, with 77 per cent of the cases committed by intimate partners or people known to the victims. 

Women aged 30 to 44 are the most affected, while Nairobi, Nakuru and Meru counties record the highest numbers. Yet officials warn the true scale is likely far higher due to widespread underreporting.

As staycations, short-stay rentals and commercial lodgings continue to grow, especially in urban centres, the Technical Working Group (TWG) found that some facilities have become sites of GBV, enabled by weak regulation and lack of security oversight.

In response, the report recommends mandatory installation of security surveillance, including CCTV, in all short-stay rentals, lodgings and commercial accommodation facilities by September 31, 2026.

The directive would be jointly implemented by the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife and the Ministry of Interior and National Administration, marking the first time the hospitality sector has been formally placed at the centre of Kenya’s GBV prevention strategy.

Chaired by former Deputy Chief Justice Dr. Nancy Baraza, the TWG concluded that systemic failures are driving the crisis.

Femicide is not legally recognised as a distinct crime, justice processes are slow and often retraumatising, families and community elders frequently block cases, and fragmented data undermines effective intervention. Social media, while amplifying awareness, has also fuelled victim-blaming and misinformation.

The report paints a grim national picture: 34 per cent of Kenyan women have experienced physical violence since the age of 15, while 13 per cent have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime.

Beyond surveillance, the TWG calls for GBV and femicide to be declared a national crisis, legal recognition of femicide as a specific offence, and criminalisation of out-of-court settlements that silence survivors.

It also urges the expansion of survivor support services, including one-stop recovery centres in all counties, stronger mental health and trauma care, and economic empowerment programmes.

To close critical data gaps, the report proposes a national GBV and femicide database and a real-time femicide dashboard, alongside regulation of digital spaces to protect survivors. It further recommends the establishment of a National GBV and Femicide Fund and ring-fenced county budgets to guarantee sustained financing.

In a pointed message to both policymakers and the public, the TWG stresses that GBV and femicide are not private family matters but violations of constitutional rights and, increasingly, a threat cutting across homes, online spaces and even weekend getaways.

As Kenya embraces staycations as part of its domestic tourism boom, the report signals a clear shift safety, accountability and survivor protection must now be built into every booking.