By Uwimana Oscar and Tana Kioko

On Saturday, July 16, the Speak Up Club engaged with the Dhobi Women's Network through a community service, outreach, and capacity-building programme, where the Club provided sensitization on issues of Sexual Gender Based Violence while extending a provision of physical and psychosocial support services provided by PECC Club and Mchezo Africa. The Club believes that advocacy on issues of Gender Based Violence (GBV) and Sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV) shall go a long way in eliminating GBV amongst women and girls in our community and shall give ample knowledge on prevention and response through sensitization.

Dhobi Women is an organization that has the mandate of assisting women, ‘Mama Fua’, in informal settlements to access to legitimate work by sensitizing them on issues of employment and access to safe working environments including GBV prevention and response.

Dhobi Women’s Network protects the rights of women who engage in casual home-care labor. These women often face adverse encounters with their employers, with experiences ranging from sexual harassment/assault to forced labor and withholding of payment. The Network seeks to empower these women by educating them on the legalities of their services, informing them on their rights to protect and realize them, and by further providing them with contracted employment.

The Club hopes to champion gender rights and host informed discussions across campus and beyond by cultivating a team that will build students' confidence to report sexual harassment and Gender Based Violence that occurs both on and off campus. It hopes to increase awareness on matters concerning SGBV, to equip people with the knowledge, skills and tools to cope with trauma, and to partner & collaborate with civil society organizations through our student-led initiatives.

Prior to the session, the Club managed to acquire donations ranging from food stuff to clothing and shoes which were presented to the Network.