Kenya’s socio-political environment presents significant challenges for women’s rights and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and more (LGBTQI+) rights. Conservative social attitudes – deeply influenced by religious beliefs, political leaders, and traditional norms – exacerbate these challenges. For instance, in February 2014, Kenyan Members of Parliament (MPs) launched a caucus against homosexuality (Sida 2015). In 2023, MP Peter Kaluma proposed the Family Protection Bill, criminalising homosexuality and framing it as a criminal violation. There have also been efforts to uphold traditional gender norms and hierarchical structures, including restricting access to sexual and reproductive health services.
Economic factors, such as funding constraints, further impact the ability of organisations to sustain advocacy and support efforts for women’s rights and LGBTQI+ rights. Similarly, the socio-political and economic landscape is marked by entrenched gender norms, restrictive legislation, and economic constraints that collectively undermine women’s rights and limit their access to resources and opportunities.
Rollback in Kenya is evident through legislative amendments and restrictive policies that undermine rights. For example, the Constitution of Kenya, Article 45[2], states that ‘every adult has the right to marry a person of the opposite sex, based on the free consent of the parties’ (The Constitution of Kenya 2010: 31). This was further reinforced in the Family Protection Bill (2023), which criminalises same-sex relations.
For women’s rights, efforts to preserve existing gender norms also include restricted access to sexual and reproductive health resources and services, including abortion. Under Kenyan law, abortion is allowed only under specific circumstances, such as when the mother’s life is in danger, or in cases of rape or incest. However, in 2019, through the efforts of the Center for Reproductive Rights Kenya, the High Court found that the Director of Medical Services and the Ministry of Health violated the rights of Kenyan women and girls by arbitrarily withdrawing official guidelines on abortion. This created significant ambiguity regarding the legal status of abortion, and discouraging medical providers from performing abortions for
fear of criminal prosecution. In this context, the lack of clear implementation and the absence of adequate resources for women seeking abortion constitutes a form of backlash, as it undermines women’s access to safe and legal reproductive health services.
For this brief, a total of eight organisations, individuals, and smaller groups were analysed, offering a well-rounded perspective on efforts to counter rollback.
Landscape of anti-rollback actors
Organisations working on these issues range from grass roots to national levels. Organisations such as the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC) and the Federation of Women Lawyers, Kenya (FIDA), among others, have emerged in response to increasing threats to rights protections. These organisations are characterised by diverse membership bases, including grass-roots activists and partners, professionals, and marginalised individuals directly affected by these issues.
Historically, Kenyan rights organisations have formed coalitions to strengthen their impact. The Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya (galck+), NGLHRC, and FIDA have been instrumental in collective advocacy. These coalitions facilitate resource-sharing and strategic alignment, and amplify efforts through engagement with political, social, religious, and system gatekeepers, including government officials, community leaders, and donor agencies (Loewenson et al. 2019).
Counter-rollback strategies
In Kenya, organisations are employing multifaceted approaches to counter the rollback of women’s rights and LGBTQI+ rights, utilising public awareness, legal support, and advocacy. Despite progress, ongoing challenges necessitate continued support and strategic adaptation to navigate the evolving socio-political landscape. Key issues addressed include sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), women’s public participation, gender-based violence (GBV), and LGBTQI+ discrimination. Interventions span legal rights advocacy, public awareness campaigns, and support services like legal aid and counselling.
Organisations use various strategies, including discursive strategies such as awareness campaigns and educational programmes that aim to shift public attitudes. For example, Youth Changers Kenya uses public awareness initiatives like the Johari project to promote gender equality and SRHR (Youth Changers Kenya 2024).
The identified organisations also employ legal and practical strategies. FIDA, for example, provides legal aid and support. Notably, in 2019, the Kenyan High Court affirmed the right to abortion in cases of sexual violence (Center for Reproductive Rights 2022). The NGLHRC also trains police and judiciary members on justice challenges faced by LGBTQI+ persons.
Effective strategies include legislative victories and practical support. For example, the 2023 Supreme Court decision upheld NGLHRC’s right to register and operate, and FIDA Kenya’s advocacy led to the enactment of the Kilifi County Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Bill. Despite these successes, challenges remain in quantifying the impact of these interventions on policy and public attitudes.
The dynamic between rollback and counter-rollback is influenced by the visibility and effectiveness of advocacy efforts. Successful campaigns can slow or halt rollback efforts, while increased stigma or policy setbacks can exacerbate challenges. Advocacy that mobilises public opinion and demonstrates broad support can pressure policymakers to reconsider regressive measures, highlighting the need for ongoing public education and strategic adaptation.
Gaps and areas for future research/work
Challenges include demonstrating the direct impact of advocacy on policy and public attitudes. Comprehensive data on the outcomes of legal challenges and public education campaigns is needed. Improved monitoring, evaluation frameworks, and collaboration between researchers and advocacy organisations could address these gaps.
Credits
This Country Brief was written by Siju Yusuf. It was supported by the project Rapid Scoping Review – The Nature of Feminist and LGBT+ Movements in a Range of Selected Countries, funded by UK International Development from the UK government. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of IDS or the UK government’s official policies.
First published April 2025.
Suggested citation: Yusuf, S. (2025) ‘Rapid Scoping Review 2025: Kenya’, Countering Rollback Country Brief, Brighton: Institute of Development Studies, DOI: 10.19088/IDS.2025.028
© Institute of Development Studies 2025.
This is an Open Access brief distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence (CC BY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original authors and source are credited and any modifications or adaptations are indicated.
