Bungoma County has emerged as the national lead for violence across all tracked indicators, with six out of ten women having been physically assaulted and nearly half of those in relationships experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) in the last year alone. Its recent sexual violence rate of 17 per cent is nearly triple the national average, placing it at the apex of a deeply troubling national picture dominated by Nyanza and Western regions. 

Homa Bay and Murang’a follow closely with a 54 per cent physical violence rate. Murang’a presents a particularly coercive profile, recording the second-highest sexual violence rate in the country at 14 per cent, while Migori’s 47 per cent recent IPV rate indicates that violence is not a legacy of the past but an active, daily reality. The geographic clustering across Western and Central Kenya demands county-specific interventions. 

The data reveals a “Middle Table” of counties where aggregate figures for physical violence appear deceptively moderate, masking a reality where violence within the home is disproportionately intense. In these regions, a woman may face a lower risk of assault in the public sphere, but her safety within a partnership is significantly compromised. This pattern suggests that in certain parts of Kenya, gender-based violence is a highly intimate and domestic crisis, concentrated behind closed doors rather than occurring as general community aggression. 

Embu illustrates this dynamic sharply. While its general physical violence ranking of 40 per cent sits in the middle of the national table, its lifetime IPV rate of 58 per cent matches the highest recorded in the country, indicating that violence in Embu is almost exclusively partner-driven. Tana River and Kisii sit lower on the general physical violence table, yet both record lifetime IPV rates exceeding 50 per cent, highlighting a severe and specific danger for women within the domestic unit. 

Counties topping grim GBV rankings are almost the same leading on historical measures 

For recent sexual violence, the correlation between ever and recent figures across counties is particularly strong. The counties at the top of the recent sexual violence ranking are almost entirely the same counties that lead on historical measures. Bungoma leads both at 17 per cent recent and corresponding lifetime figures, Murang’a follows at 14 per cent, and Embu records 13 per cent for recent sexual violence, ranking third nationally. The persistence of that pattern across time suggests not isolated incidents but sustained environments of impunity in which perpetrators continue to act without meaningful consequence. 

Perhaps the most alarming metric is the ratio of recent to lifetime violence. In Bungoma, Migori, and Embu, recent IPV rates occurring within the last 12 months are nearly as high as lifetime figures, indicating an environment of sustained impunity where perpetrators continue to act without consequence and violence has not decelerated. 

Several counties rarely featured in national GBV conversations, yet they present a serious cause for concern. Tharaka-Nithi records 35 per cent ever-physical violence, 46 per cent lifetime IPV, and 33 per cent recent IPV, a recent-to-lifetime ratio that implies violence is very much ongoing. Lamu records 34 per cent ever-physical violence and 44 per cent lifetime IPV, with 33 per cent recent IPV.  

In Nandi County, violence is driven by partners, but also family members and neighbours 

Vihiga, at 34 per cent ever-physical violence and 43 per cent lifetime IPV, sits just above the national average but records a recent IPV rate of 30 per cent. Laikipia records 35 per cent ever-physical violence with 40 per cent lifetime IPV. 

Nandi presents a rare and instructive anomaly in the dataset. Its physical violence rate of 39 per cent is significantly higher than its lifetime IPV rate of 30 per cent, creating one of the largest gaps of its kind in the survey.  

While most counties show that violence is primarily driven by partners, Nandi’s data suggests a significant proportion of violence against women originates from outside the home, from family members, neighbours, or broader community interactions. 

Kiambu challenges the assumption that urbanisation and economic prosperity act as protective barriers. As one of Kenya’s wealthiest counties, it nonetheless ranks seventh nationally for physical violence at 42 per cent. 

At the bottom of the table, Northeastern counties, including Mandera, at 9 per cent physical violence, and Wajir at 13 per cent, report the lowest rates. However, experts urge extreme caution. In regions where cultural norms, geographic isolation, and limited services restrict disclosure, these figures likely represent the “scale of silence” rather than true safety. In such contexts, under-reporting is structural, making these numbers probable underestimates. 

Data analytics & visualisation: Stanley Njihia  

Text: Yvonne Kawira