Sexual violence continues to rise amidst post-election clashes in Kenya. The Nairobi Women’s hospital, one of the country”s leading treatment centers for rape and sexual violence, has noted that the number of rape cases have doubled since the beginning of the month, reports BBC News.
The steady rise in sexual attacks has prompted a senior United Nations official to urge the global community to acknowledge these crimes as a violation of human rights, according to the UN News Service. “Once again, women and girls are not just caught in the crossfire. They are on the battlefield,” said Kemal Dervis, administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP).
Healthcare workers had previously warned that women and children were being targeted within days of violence erupting following the country”s” national elections, the UN News Service reports. According to Women”s eNews, out of the quarter-million people who have been displaced by the civil instability, approximately 85 percent are women and children.
