Submit to survive: an exploration of sexual cleansing as an act of violence against widows in the Luo community of Kenya

Abstract

In this paper, the sexual ‘cleansing’ of widows and subsequent inheritance is assessed for its socio-cultural significance. Although the practice has been well studied in the context of HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa, it has not been widely examined as an act of sexual violence against women. To address this gap, in-depth interviews were conducted with 27 widows aged 29 to 90 years in Siaya County in Southwest Kenya. A majority of participants stated the cleansing ritual was forcefully initiated, violently fulfilled, and frequently seen as rape. Findings from this study necessitate the identification of the cultural practice of widow cleansing as an act of violence against women. Doing so will facilitate the creation of a legal framework with which to act to eliminate the practice.

Keywords:

• Sexual violence
• Kenya
• harmful practises
• widows
• cultural practices

Disclosure statement

The authors have no competing interests to declare.

Data availability statement

Data to support the findings of this study are cited within the article. The full dataset to support the analysis is not available as interviews contain information that would make the participants identifiable, compromising confidentiality.

Acknowledgements

We thank the respondents who participated in this study.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by an Academic Professional Development Committee (APDC) Faculty Research and Scholarly Activities Grant from St. Catherine University, USA.