A sexual harassment report released by caller-identification App TrueCaller shows that one out of five women in Kenya receives sexual harassment calls and SMSs.
It further indicates that 9 out of 10 women in Kenya receive harassment and nuisance calls and text messages.
The report which was carried out between November 22, 2019, and February 24, 2020, also found that sexual and inappropriate calls are common among women in Nairobi.
47% of all the sexual harassment calls/SMS comes from inmates in Kenya while the remaining 53% come from unknown people.
“The fact that the harassers are selecting women at random to harass is perplexing and irritating, especially in a country like Kenya where that level is high.” Says the report.
The study found that women in urban areas (Nairobi, Mombasa, Kiambu, Nakuru) were the most affected.
While the research found that harassment elicited strong reactions from women; anger, irritation, fear and worry, only 2 out of 10 women in Kenya have taken action against harassment calls, with only 6% of them reporting to relevant authorities.
The report adds that for Kenyan women, with little support from authorities and local attitudes, harassment often has to be severe before they speak out.
It states that only 49% of women who have faced harassment blocked numbers of the caller, 40% ignored and 32% called for help from the operator.
Only 29% told the harasser to stop and 6% reported to the authority.
Additionally, 11% of all women who have received sexual harassment calls/SMS think these types of calls constitute harassment.
