On the evening of June 6, 2025, 17-year-old Farida Kadzo Changawa, a young survivor of sexual violence, returned to her home in Madina, Kilifi County, after she was fatally attacked in Kijipwa.
She was reportedly stabbed by her boyfriend after refusing to accompany him to a family event. Moments later, she succumbed to her injuries.
Farida was not just another young woman from the coast; she was a survivor, a girl who had once faced defilement and had bravely sought justice.
With the support of the International Justice Mission (IJM) Kenya, she had been navigating the long and painful road toward healing.
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But her life was cut short in an act of violence.
Farida’s story reflects the harsh reality that many girls and women face, where poverty, gender inequality, and weak enforcement of laws create a deadly environment for survivors
In a statement on June 11, 2025, the International Justice Mission (IJM) Kenya described Farida’s killing as a painful reminder of the persistent threat of Violence Against Women and Children (VAWC) in Kenya, particularly in regions where poverty, gender inequality, and weak law enforcement continue to leave survivors exposed.
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Call for Justice for Farida Kadzo
IJM dismissed early media headlines that framed the incident as a romantic dispute, stating that it was not a case of a love triangle.
“It is about the failure to protect women. It’s about the systems that continue to fail survivors like Farida,” they added.
IJM Kenya is now calling on the criminal justice system to act swiftly on Farida Kadzo’s death.
“Let her story not end in silence. Let this be a turning point,” stated IJM
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Gender-based Violence in Kenya
In Kenya, about 34 per cent of women have experienced physical violence since the age of 15 and 13 per cent of women have experienced sexual violence at some point in their lives (KNBS, 2022).
Out of 8,149 victims of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) crimes in Kenya in 2021, 92 per cent of these victims were female and 8 per cent were male (National Police Service, 2021).
Among females aged 18 to 24, 7.7% experienced sexual and physical violence, 3.9% endured both physical and emotional violence, and 1.9% were subjected to all three forms of violence during childhood.
There are, however, many unreported cases of GBV due to threat, stigma, isolation, and social exclusion, which expose the victims to further violence at the hands of the perpetrators.
GBV occurs in families, workplaces, and schools, and it involves a wide variety of agents, from family members, friends, intimate partners, to strangers.
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