Influence of women characteristics on gender violence experiences of women using ‘boda boda’ public transport in kilelwet sub-location, Nakuru County, Kenya

Gender violence is a common occurrence both locally and globally. Although it occurs in many spheres of life, most studies have focused on gender violence that occurs at home. The aim of this study was to establish the factors that determine gender violence experiences of women using public transport specifically in the ‘boda boda’ public transport. The specific objective of the study was to establish the influence of women characteristics on gender violence experiences of women using ‘boda boda’ public transport in Kilelwet Sub-Location of Nakuru County Kenya. The study incorporated the descriptive research design in the collection and analysis of data. The target population was comprised of 920 women that rely on ‘boda boda’ transportation in the study area, three ‘boda boda’ public transport administrators within the study area and the Area Assistant Chief. From this population, a sample of 90 female ‘boda boda’ transport users were selected using the systematic sampling method that entailed picking every 10th female customer from boda boda boarding stations until the desired sample size was attained. All the ‘boda boda’ transport administrators and the Area assistant Chief were included in the study. Both quantitative and Qualitative approaches were applied in both data collection and analysis. Findings of the study revealed that incidents of gender violence on female ‘boda boda’ users are quite prevalent with 63% of the respondents reporting having experienced some type of violence. The most common type of violence was offensive verbal comments and staring. Education level, occupation, and the frequency of ‘boda boda’ use were the women characteristics that significantly determined the gender violence experiences of the female ‘boda boda’ users. Based on these findings, the study recommends that policy makers create awareness programmes that targets women with low level of education and who frequently use ‘boda boda’ transport.