Indicator 16.1.4 Proportion of population that feel safe walking alone around the area they live after dark

Goal 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

Target 16.1: Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere

Indicator 16.1.4 Proportion of the population that feel safe walking alone around the area they live at night

2024

16.3.1,16.1.2,16.1.3

Kenya National Bureau of Statistics

Senior Manager, Social Statistics

Social Statistics Division

Collect, compile, analyze and disseminate statistics on governance, peace and security;

gender, education and health.

+254735004401, +254202911000, +254202911001

P.O. BOX 30266-00100 NAIROBI

dpss@knbs.or.ke

Definition:

This indicator refers to the proportion of the adult population who feel safe walking alone in their neighborhood after dark.

Concepts:

The question measures the feeling of fear of crime in a context outside the house and refers to the immediate experience of this fear by the respondent by limiting the area in question to the neighborhood.

Neighborhood refers to the immediate area a person resides in.

Per cent

None

Section CH: Security & Safety; Questions CH01 to CH09 from the 2015/16 Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey

The 2015/16 KIHBS sample was drawn from the fifth National Sample Survey and Evaluation Programme

(NASSEP V) household sampling frame.

The frame consisted of 5,360 clusters split into four equal sub-samples.

The clusters in the frame were drawn from approximately 96,000 enumeration areas (EAs) of the 2009 Kenya

Population and Housing Census. The frame was stratified into urban and rural areas within each of 47 counties

resulting in 92 sampling strata with Nairobi city and Mombasa counties being wholly urban. The sample size

was determined independently for each county, resulting in a national sample of 24,000 households. This

sample was further distributed to the urban and rural strata.

The sampling for the survey was done in three stages. In the first stage, a total of 2,400 clusters (988 in

urban and 1,412 in rural areas) were sampled from NASSEP V sampling frame while the second stage

involved selection of 16 households from each of the clusters. The third stage involved the sub-sampling

of 10 households (from the 16 households) for the main KIHBS with the remaining 6 earmarked for the

Continuous Household Survey Programme (CHSP). Further, five households from each cluster were

randomly selected among the 10 KIHBS households for the administration of diaries.

To capture seasonality, the 2015/16 KIHBS sample was divided into four quarters (a consecutive 3-month

period). Each of the 2,400 clusters were randomly assigned into a quarter to generate nationally representative quarterly samples of approximately 600 clusters that could be analysed independently. Data was collected by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics through standardized questionnaires administered by research assistants.

Community questionnaire was administered through Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) comprising at least five knowledgeable community members who were selected with the assistance of the local administration in each cluster. This questionnaire was administered by supervisors and was used to collect information about the community in which the sampled households reside. Such information included basic physical infrastructure, access to and quality of public services, economic activities, agriculture, community welfare, security and safety.

The five knowledgeable community members were asked Questions CH01 to CH09 to ascertain the security and safety within the neighbourhood/village.

Every 5 years

2024/25

Kenya National Bureau of Statistics

Kenya National Bureau of Statistics

The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) is established under the Statistics Act, 2006 as the principal agency of the Government for collecting, analyzing and disseminating statistical data in Kenya as the custodian of official statistical information and promoting effective statistical coordination of the National Statistical System (NSS).

It is important to understand that ‘fear of crime’ is a phenomenon that is separate from the prevalence of crime and that may be even largely independent from actual experience, as the perception of crime and the resulting fear of it is mediated by a number of factors, such as the awareness of crime, the public discussion and the media and personal circumstances. Nevertheless, the ‘fear of crime’ is an important indicator in itself as a high level of fear can negatively influence well-being and lead to reduced contacts with the public, reduced trust and activities and thus an obstacle to development.

The extent to which a neighborhood covers is not well understood by the respondent since there is no universally applicable definition of neighborhood.

There may be other reasons unrelated to crime (e.g. wild animals, etc.) why respondents may not feel safe walking around their neighbourhood after dark.

The proportion of population that feel safe is calculated by summing up the number of respondents who feel “very safe” and “safe” and dividing the total by the total number of respondents, and multiplying by 100.

The data for the indicator is collected through household surveys conducted by KNBS following survey protocols.

Metadata are assessed in relation to the representativeness and coverage of the survey as well as alignment of question wording and answer options with international standards.

Before publication, a standardized “pre-publication process” is implemented, where the Technical Working Committee on Governance, Peace and Security Statistics can verify and review the data before publication.

The UNODC-UNECE Manual on Victimization Surveys (2010) is available at: https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/Manual-on-victim-surveys.html

The SDG 16 Survey Questionnaire and Implementation Manual by UNODC, UNDP and OHCHR (2022) available at: https://www.sdg16hub.org/topic/sdg-16-survey-initiative-questionnaire

https://www.sdg16hub.org/topic/sdg-16-survey-initiative-implementation-manual

KNBS maintains quality of data by investing much in data collectors training. Once the data collectors understand their roles well, it is easy for them to obtain the required data from the respondent. The data collected is validated at different level to ascertain its validity and quality.

The KNBS adheres to Kenya Statistical Quality Assurance Framework (KesQAF) that underlines principles to be assured in managing the statistical production processes and output.

Data consistency and quality checks are conducted through Technical Working Groups (TWGs) before publication and dissemination.

The KNBS adheres to KesQAF, ISO 9001:2015 and the Statistics Act 2006 and 2019 hence ensuring production of quality products and services.

Data availability:

Data available at National level

Time series:

2015-2016

Disaggregation:

No disaggregation

None

URl:

www.unodc.org

https://dataunodc.un.org/sdgs

UNODC-UNECE. 2010. Manual on Victimization Surveys. Available at : https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/Manual-on-victim-surveys.html

UNODC-UNDP-OHCHR. 2022. SDG 16 Survey Questionnaire and Implementation Manual. Available at:

https://www.sdg16hub.org/topic/sdg-16-survey-initiative-questionnaire

https://www.sdg16hub.org/topic/sdg-16-survey-initiative-implementation-manual

References:

Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey (KIHBS)