Expression Of Interest FOR Pro Bono Lawyers at Coalition on Violence Against Women (COVAW)

COVAW’s work is guided by its Vision “A society where women and girls enjoy equal rights, freedoms and thrive in safe spaces. COVAW exists to champion the rights of women and girls to be free from all forms of violations. COVAW’s work is anchored on its Strategic Plan 2018-2023 whose theme is Securing Rights-Influencing Sustained Engagement on Violations of Women and Girls in Kenya^[1] and its key focus areas include;

1. Access to Comprehensive Sexual and Gender Based Violence and Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights Services
2. Women’s Economic Empowerment
3. Women’s Leadership Development
4. Access to Justice
5. Institutional Development

COVAW’s interventions deliberately address norms, attitudes, laws, policies and practices that affect women and girls’ safety and wellbeing in general. This is achieved through implementation of gender progressive practices and supporting development of regulatory and institutional frameworks. Additionally, we foster consistent engagement of regulatory and institutional response to violence against women and girls (VAWG) and advocate for accountability in handling of perpetrators. Our key stakeholders are the community, civil society, government and private sector.

Background Information: Access To Justice Strategic Area

Over the years, COVAW has received numerous cases on SGBV and has consequently supported in access to justice for survivors. The goal of Access to justice is to increase access to appropriate legal redress for victims and survivors of VAWG. Under this thematic area, we seek to address challenges linked to limited access to information by women and girls about their rights, difficulty in obtaining legal services, as well as financial insecurities that affects their access to legal support, leading to difficulty in navigating court systems. Provision of access to justice services has been in partnership with the COVAW Pro bono lawyer’s network across the country. Some of the cases that COVAW has supported to conclusion inter alia include; Justice for Liz case^[2]wherein the three accused persons were found guilty of the offence of gang rape and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment and Cr 71 of 2016 Narok Law Courts, a case where the accused was convicted to 20 years imprisonment after being found guilty of defiling an intellectually challenged girl. To this end, COVAW wishes to expand its pro bono lawyers network who will be vital in facilitating access to justice to victims of sexual and gender based violence.

Requirements and Qualifications

The prospective candidates should: -

• Be an advocate of the High Court of Kenya with a valid practicing certificate;
• Be a Member of the Law Society of Kenya in their respective branch.
• Interested in offering pro-bono legal services to victims of sexual and gender based violence with intellectual disabilities to ensure access to justice.
• At least one (1) year of experience in litigation post admission, preferably on human rights issues.

Duties and responsibilities;

• Provide comprehensive legal advice and representation to COVAW SGBV clients.
• Ensure court attendance of the matters assigned.
• Send monthly reports to COVAW on case progress.
• Ensure communication with clients on the progress of their case and especially notify them of key hearing dates when their attendance is required.
• Liaise with COVAW Access to justice and Women’s Rights Programme Officer for further assistance and support regarding the cases.
• Ensure that matters are dealt with utmost confidentiality, respect and non-discrimination.
• Liaise with key justice actors (courts, prosecutors, police) to ensure the matters are expedited and given priority.
• Ready and willing to offer pro-bono services as and when called upon to do so by COVAW.
• Adhere to COVAW values.

Benefits to our Pro-bono Lawyers

• Opportunities for service and enhancement of access to justice for marginalised and vulnerable groups;
• Opportunities for personal growth and development on human rights and SGBV programming through exposure to various trainings;