The Kitui County Children’s Court Users Committee has expanded its structure and mandate to take in the gender agenda and is renamed the Kitui Gender and Children’s Court Users Committee.
Stakeholders agreed to the expansion at an engagement joined by the Kitui Regional Office of the National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC), which took part in deliberations on strengthening access to justice, protection and inclusion for women, girls and children.
The Commission’s Kitui Regional Office will serve as the secretariat of the expanded committee. In that role the office will support stakeholder collaboration and information sharing, follow up on agreed actions, and advance interventions responding to the needs of women, girls and children across the county.
WHY IT WAS EXPANDED
The expansion recognises that the challenges facing women, girls and children are interconnected. Gender-based violence, child abuse, discrimination, harmful practices and barriers to justice require coordinated action that places the rights, safety and dignity of survivors at the centre of justice processes.
Stakeholders agreed that institutions working separately cannot address those challenges effectively.
WHAT IT COVERS The expanded committee brings together judicial officers, government agencies, law enforcement institutions, civil society organisations and other stakeholders.
It provides a platform for sharing information, strengthening referral pathways and jointly addressing gaps in prevention, protection, investigation, prosecution and access to support services.
The Commission said the expanded committee is a foundation for ensuring that cases involving children and gender-based violations are handled with the urgency, sensitivity and coordination they require.
