Description
Kenya’s electoral cycles have been marked by political unrest and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), most notably during the 2007–2008 post-election period and again in 2013 and 2017. Though fewer cases were reported in 2022, fear and structural vulnerability persist. This paper reframes election-related SGBV as part of a continuum of gendered violence shaped by political instability, impunity, and everyday inequalities. It examines how women survivors mobilize networks, reclaim agency, and sustain resilience under these conditions. Drawing on socio-ecological resilience and relational agency, the paper explores how recovery emerges through women’s connections to family, community, and civil society rather than individual endurance alone. Based on fieldwork in Nairobi (August 2024–March 2025), the analysis identifies three phases of resilience: silence as a calculated survival tactic; formation of relational networks such as chamas (self-help groups) and survivor-led initiatives; and collaborative prevention efforts during subsequent elections. Findings reveal that relational resilience is sustained through everyday practices of care and strategic alliances but constrained by enduring political and structural barriers. By theorizing resilience as relational rather than individual, the paper advances feminist international security studies toward a more inclusive and justice-oriented vision of security which transcends the binary between victimhood and empowerment and reimagines the discipline’s capacity to address everyday gendered insecurities.
