Leaving Violence Is Only the Beginning

When we talk about gender-based violence, we often focus on one question:

Why doesn’t she leave?

But perhaps we should be asking a different question:

What happens to a woman after she leaves?

Leaving an abusive relationship can be one of the most difficult decisions a woman will ever make. But walking away from violence does not automatically mean that the difficulties are over.

For many women in Kenya, it can be the beginning of another challenge: rebuilding an entire life..

Where will she go?

A woman may leave an abusive home, but she still needs somewhere safe to live.

She may have children who depend on her.

She needs food, transportation, healthcare and the possibility of earning an income.

She may also need psychological support after years of fear, control or humiliation.

And she may need legal assistance to understand and defend her rights.

Without these elements, leaving violence can become extremely difficult.

This is why gender-based violence cannot be addressed only at the moment of emergency.

A woman needs a path forward.

Violence can take many forms

Violence is not always visible.

It is not only a bruise or a physical injury.

It can also be psychological, sexual or economic.

A woman can be controlled through money, prevented from working, isolated from other people or made completely dependent on her partner.

Economic control can be particularly powerful because it limits a woman’s ability to make independent decisions.

When someone controls where you live, what you eat and whether your children can go to school, freedom becomes much more complicated than simply walking through a door.

Rebuilding confidence

Violence can also slowly destroy a woman’s confidence.

After being repeatedly told that she is incapable, worthless or unable to survive alone, believing in herself again can take time.

This is why empowerment begins long before a woman receives her first salary.

It begins when she discovers that she can learn something new.

When she completes a course.

When she makes a decision for herself.

When she earns her first income.

When she realizes that her future can be different from her past.

These moments may appear small from the outside.

For the woman experiencing them, they can represent the beginning of a completely new life.

Creating real alternatives

At Scarpetta Rossa Kenya, our vision is based on a simple principle:

A woman needs more than a way out. She needs somewhere to go next.

In Ukunda, Kwale County, our work aims to create pathways that combine support with opportunities for independence.

Listening, psychological and legal support can accompany women through difficult moments.

Vocational training can provide practical skills.

Language and literacy programmes can open new possibilities.

Work experience and income-generating activities can help transform those skills into economic independence.

Childcare and transportation can remove practical barriers that often prevent mothers from participating.

Each part has a purpose.

Together, they can create an alternative.

A future built by women themselves

The goal is not to decide what a woman’s future should look like.

It is to give her the tools and opportunities to decide for herself.

Because real empowerment is not replacing one form of dependence with another.

It is creating independence.

A woman who has survived violence should not be defined forever by what happened to her.

She is a woman with abilities, ideas, ambitions and a future.

Leaving violence may be the first step.

Having the opportunity to rebuild her life is what allows the journey to continue.

From Safety to Independence.

Scarpetta Rossa Kenya – Sofia Castelli Project

Ukunda, Kwale County, Kenya