Forms of violence experienced by children in kenya during the 2007 post election violence (pev) and their psychological effect

Most nations strive to ensure that citizens choose their political leaders in a free and fair way during elections. It is also their responsibility to ensure that citizens are protected and live in a safe and healthy environment afterwards. However in the recent past years, various forms of violence have erupted soon after elections and caused a lot of damage on property and also death of its citizens. The general objective of the study was to establish the implications of the post election violence on the psychosocial adjustment of children between 10-18 years. The concern to carry out the study came after realizing that children’s psychological needs were not adequately addressed after 2007 post election violence. Specifically the objectives were to establish the forms of violence on children between 10-18 years went through during the post election violence 2007, determine the psychological effects of post election violence on children, to determine the influence of post election violence on the social adjustment of children and evaluate the mitigation strategies used to alleviate the effects of post election violence on children between 10-18 years. The aim was to come up with intervention measures to assist children affected by post election violence in future. Descriptive survey design was used to establish forms of violence children experienced during the PEV in Uasin Gishu County. Children who were directly not directly affected by the PEV in the same areas were included in the study. Teachers of primary schools in the affected areas, parents and their children between 10-18 years were involved in the study. Questionnaires were used for teachers in primary schools, Interview schedules were administered to parents of children affected by the 2007 PEV and key informants. Psychological tests were administered to children between 10-11 years while children between 12-18 years wrote essays on the 2007 PEV. Purposive sampling and snowballing sampling techniques were used to identify children affected by the 2007 post election violence and their parents, stratified and simple random sampling were used to select two groups children between 10-18 years in classes. Data from the interview and observation schedules was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Inferential statistics were used to analyze data from psychological tests and questionnaires using mean, modes and percentages. Data was presented in form of pie charts and graphical presentations. Discussions and conclusions were made from the findings on each objective. The findings will be shared with counselors, teachers, parents and other stakeholders to help children after election violence. Recommendations have been made to governments and organizations that help persons affected by disasters to improve services in future. It is hoped that from the study findings, mitigation strategies will be put in place to alleviate the effects of post election violence on children.