This report sampled several counties in Kenya to assess their CVE action plans. Mombasa and Mandera were found to have introduced the most innovative methods. A key area of interest was the work conducted with civil society organizations. Many registered civil society organizations working in education, social justice and the environment, are also involved in PCVE. These interventions are mostly conceived of as community sensitisation activities. For example, several focused on building support groups for young women who are returnees from violent extremist groups, or women who have been affected by violent extremism to empower them to deal with the psychosocial effects. Most civil society organisations worked with the National Counter Terrorism Center (NCTC) in order to: construct a shelter and resource centre in Mombasa to receive women survivors of violent extremism; advocate for amnesty for women and girls who are victims of violent extremism, and work to promote the screening of returnees. However, PCVE activities are also conducted by many unregistered community initiatives, including youth and women’s groups. For example, women supported each other in social, psychological and economic ways through setting up safer spaces such as cooking clubs where women can discuss cross-cutting issues to address violent extremism. Consequently, the report concludes that women are leading efforts to enhance public awareness on PVE.
2020