Yvonne Moderates National Survivors’ Conference

Yvonne Oyieke moderated the National Survivors’ Conference organised by Wangu Kanja Foundation, where survivors directly engaged government departments and institutions responsible for responding to sexual and gender-based violence. The conference focused on demanding survivor-centered and trauma-informed services across all levels of response.

The first day began with survivors questioning duty bearers on gaps in service delivery, follow-up, and institutional failures. They raised concerns about systems that do not listen, do not act, or respond with delays that further harm survivors. Each question pointed to a specific demand for action, change, and responsibility.

Florence Machio from the Office of the Women’s Rights Advisor to the President officially opened the conference and emphasized the need for survivor experiences to inform government policy, data collection, and implementation.

The second day continued with dialogue between survivors and key stakeholders. The sessions focused on building structures where survivors are not only consulted but also lead the design of responses, monitoring, and delivery of services.

Throughout the conference, survivors emphasized that they are the ones most closely affected by the problem and must therefore lead in shaping the solutions. They rejected tokenistic involvement and pushed for continuous inclusion in decision-making spaces.

The conference brought together civil society organizations, legal practitioners, medical professionals, and government representatives. Survivors made it clear that engagement must move beyond listening and must lead to action, timelines, and accountability mechanisms that can be tracked.