St. Kizito massacre

St. Kizito was a mixed secondary school in Kenya in Akithii Location, Meru County. It was named for Saint Kizito.

On July 13, 1991, over 70 girls were raped and 19 killed at St. Kizito school. After supposedly declining to participate in a strike organized by the boys at the school, the girls dormitory was invaded by male students and the chaos began. Initial and angering reports from the headteacher included comments that the boys had not intended to hurt the girls, but "only wanted to rape." The school was closed after the event as international outrage erupted on the treatment of women in Kenya and other African nations. The school was later renamed St Cyprian Secondary School.

On March 28, 2006, mass rapes again occurred against Kenyan schoolgirls, this time in the central district of Nyeri. An estimated 15 girls were raped as they staged a nighttime protest march for better living conditions [1].

References

• "Masculinity and Adolescent Male Violence: The Case of Three Secondary Schools in Kenya", Caroline W. Kariuki
• The Daily Nation, jul 13, 2005: 14 years later, boys at the heart of the St Kizito tragedy speak out