COVAW was founded in 1995. in a workshop that identified two critical areas that no organization was dealing with- Violence against Women and the lack of women in decision making processes and that there was a need to form a Coalition that would address the same. This saw the birth of the Coalition on Violence against Women, which is now a registered non- governmental organization with the Government of Kenya. COVAW was established as a membership organization. The membership was drawn from professional and individual women and men who are committed to the eradication of violence against women and the advancement of women’s human rights in general. At the time, COVAW strived to offer and effectively manage personalized services on a voluntary basis to it’s beneficiaries in addition to the services provided by COVAW. The main aim from the start was moving the issue of violence against women from the private to the public domain- "Breaking the Silence” on Violence against Women. Since inc