Mama Siri
Background
Women and girls with disabilities in Kenya face systemic barriers that hinder their access to healthcare, education, economic opportunities, and protection from violence. Deep-rooted discrimination, stigma, and institutional gaps further limit their full participation in society. Many lack information on their sexual and reproductive rights. This increases their vulnerability to unplanned pregnancies, STIs, and unsafe abortions.
Limited education and employment opportunities lead to financial dependence, restricting their ability to escape abuse, access healthcare, or advocate for their rights. While Kenya has made progress in disability and gender-inclusive policies, weak implementation due to funding constraints, limited political will, and lack of accountability continues to hinder meaningful change. Despite efforts to promote inclusion, significant gaps remain in access to disability-inclusive SRHR services and GBV response mechanisms for women and girls with disabilities in Kenya. Many healthcare facilities lack accessible infrastructure, disability-friendly communication tools, and trained personnel to provide quality SRHR services. Additionally, reporting mechanisms for GBV cases remain ineffective, as survivors often face stigma, inaccessible legal processes, and inadequate support systems. The absence of targeted community outreach and advocacy efforts further isolates women with disabilities, leaving them uninformed about their rights and unable to access critical services.
This Ability Trust, through the Mama Siri Program, seeks to address these barriers by providing a confidential, survivor-centered toll-free helpline, strengthening Mama Siris’ capacities, and enhancing advocacy and policy engagement. The program builds the leadership capacity of Mama Siris, equipping them with the skills to facilitate community meetings, engage policymakers, and advocate for disability-inclusive SRHR services. Additionally, it strengthens partnerships with local healthcare providers to promote inclusive service delivery and raises awareness on SRHR rights, GBV prevention, and access to justice.
Aligned with global best practices, reporting mechanisms and support services must be fully accessible to women with disabilities. GBV survivors should have confidential reporting channels and receive timely, non-discriminatory access to essential services, including medical, psychosocial, legal, and material assistance, as well as safe shelters. Through these efforts, Mama Siri ensures that women and girls with disabilities receive timely SRHR information, access inclusive services, and are empowered to advocate for their rights, ultimately creating safe spaces and sustainable support systems within their communities.
Long Term Goals
Establish a sustainable, inclusive, and responsive ecosystem that empowers women and girls with disabilities by ensuring equal access to comprehensive SRHR and GBV services, strengthening prevention mechanisms, and enhancing survivor-centered response systems.Short Term Goals
Establish a sustainable, inclusive, and responsive ecosystem that empowers women and girls with disabilities by ensuring equal access to comprehensive SRHR and GBV services, strengthening prevention mechanisms, and enhancing survivor-centered response systems.Overall Objectives
To create a fully inclusive, survivor-centered, and rights-based ecosystem that ensures women and girls with disabilities have equal access to SRHR and GBV prevention, response, and recovery services through strengthened support systems, policy advocacy, and sustainable partnerships.
Expected Outcome
- Increased visibility and reach of the Mama Siri Program, with SRHR and GBV information, services, and referral systems are widely accessible to communities of women and girls with disabilities.
- Strengthened case tracking, follow-ups, improved service monitoring and data-driven decision-making to enhance availability, accessibility, and inclusivity of SRHR and GBV services for women and girls with disabilities.
- Strengthened local community networks and partnerships that support the prevention of GBV and promote SRHR education, ensuring effective linkages between Mama Siri and organizations working on SRHR and GBV.
- Strengthened leadership capacities of 20 Mama Siris, equipping them with the confidence, knowledge, and resources to effectively advocate for SRHR and GBV issues, mobilize their communities, and drive meaningful change.