Approximately 2 million working women experience domestic violence and abuse in Kenya

A new study has found that nearly two million working women in Kenya alone experienced domestic violence and abuse in the last 12 months.

According to the study that was conducted by KPMG and commissioned by Vodafone, 1.97 million working women have in one way or the other been victims of intimate partner violence (IPV). The study that covered nine countries (Germany, India, Ireland, Kenya, United Kingdom, Spain, Turkey, South Africa, Italy) found that in these countries, a total of 30 million working women experienced violence in the last one year.

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Impact of domestic violence and abuse to the economy

The impact of domestic violence and abuse has not only impacted their productivity at work but has also weighed heavily on the economy.

“Evidence suggests that victims of domestic violence and abuse may take additional time off work due to the violence they experience. This may be due to the injuries they sustain, emotional stress or in order to seek help. In the nine Vodafone markets, we estimate that approximately $1.1 billion to $2.1 billion of economic output is lost each year as a consequence of absenteeism related to domestic violence and abuse” read part of the report by KPMG.

Kenya lost 5 billion to domestic violence

Kenya, for instance, lost a whooping Ksh 5 billion in the last year to domestic violence and abuse. The women in seven of the nine surveyed countries also reported having missed promotions at work due to domestic violence and abuse-related reasons.