Overview
This project seeks to address gender-based violence (GBV) in Kwale County’s artisanal fisheries sector through a trauma-informed, survivor-centered, and gender-transformative approach. Centered in Lunga Lunga Sub-County, the project will build the capacity of local actors, empower women, and engage men to foster safer, more inclusive fisheries environments. The project will focus on trauma-informed healing services, community-driven safety planning, women’s leadership, economic empowerment, and institutional strengthening to reduce GBV risks and promote equitable, sustainable fisheries governance.
Targeted Outcome
Increased safety and reduced vulnerability to GBV among women and at-risk groups in Kwale’s artisanal fisheries sector through inclusive governance, trauma-informed services, and economic resilience.
Planned Reach
The project will directly reach 1,180 people (525 women and 355 men), including GBV champions, fisheries workers, and service providers. An additional 300 stakeholders (government actors, community leaders, cooperatives) will benefit from capacity building and coordination efforts. Indirectly, the project will reach 4,130 individuals through improved well-being, household resilience, and safer community environments.
Situational background
In Kwale County, Kenya, women play critical roles in the artisanal fisheries value chain—primarily in processing, trade, and transport—but face disproportionate risks of GBV, including sexual exploitation, “sex-for-fish” practices, physical and verbal abuse, and economic exclusion. Environmental stressors such as climate change and overfishing have increased competition for marine resources, exacerbating gender inequalities. Women often work in unregulated spaces, such as landing sites and markets, with limited access to safety mechanisms, economic resources, and decision-making power. Harmful norms and institutional discrimination further marginalize women, limiting access to support services and leadership roles in fisheries governance.
Project Approach
The Safety and Wellbeing for Women in Fisheries (SWWF) project will implement a trauma-informed, survivor-centered, and gender-transformative approach to address gender-based violence (GBV) in Kwale County’s artisanal fisheries sector. Led by Gender Transformative Pathways (GTP) in partnership with ASO and GWRC, the project will work across Lunga Lunga Sub-County to strengthen institutional and community systems, increase access to survivor-centered support, and promote women’s leadership and economic resilience. Key strategies include conducting a gender and safety analysis to inform risk mitigation plans, establishing safe spaces and healing sessions for survivors, training GBV champions and male allies, and improving GBV referral systems. The project will also enhance the capacity of Beach Management Units and community leaders to integrate GBV risk mitigation into fisheries governance, support women’s participation in decision-making structures, and reduce dependency-driven vulnerabilities through economic empowerment, access to microfinance, and skills training. This integrated approach aims to mitigate GBV risks, promote inclusive fisheries governance, and enhance the safety and well-being of women and girls in climate-stressed fishing communities.
