Social Support Programmes and Women’s Response to Gender-Based Violence in Kibra Informal Settlement, Nairobi City County, Kenya

Gender-based violence (GBV) remains a critical social and public health concern for women in informal settlements such as Kibra, Nairobi, Kenya, where social support services are available but often underutilized. To examined the influence of social support programmes on women’s response to GBV in Kibra. Convergent parallel mixed-methods design combining a descriptive cross-sectional survey with qualitative key informant interviews was employed. 114 women survivors of GBV and 15 key informants from GBV-support organizations in Kibra. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression; qualitative data were analyzed thematically. All four support domains correlated significantly with response to GBV (r = .897–.910, p < .001) and jointly explained 91.2% of its variance (R2 = .912). Counselling and economic empowerment support were the strongest independent predictors. Findings support strengthening shelter capacity, inter-agency coordination, and economic empowerment programming. Keywords: Gender-Based Violence; Social Support Programmes; Women’s Response; Informal Settlement