Corruption continues to undermine Kenya’s development by diverting public resources, weakening institutions, and eroding trust between citizens and the state. Yet, it is not experienced in the same way by everyone. Most anti-corruption frameworks treat corruption as gender-neutral and focus on monetary bribery, procurement fraud, or elite capture. This narrow focus overlooks how corruption is shaped by institutional power relations that are themselves gendered Moving beyond these traditional perspectives requires reframing corruption in Kenya as a product of institutional design rather than a mere set of illegal acts. Central to this shift is the recognition that non-monetary forms of corruption, especially sextortion, are not marginal or exceptional, but part of how institutions function in practice. Evidence from Kenya shows clear differences in how corruption is experienced. Men are more likely to encounter monetary bribery in sectors such as policing and business regulation, while women are more exposed to corruption in everyday service delivery, including healthcare, education, and civil registration. These interactions often involve delays, favoritism, or coercion rather than direct financial payments. Because such experiences are rarely captured in official data, they remain largely invisible in policy discussions. Furthermore, this paper argues that these patterns are not accidental. They reflect how institutions distribute power, discretion, and accountability in ways that systematically expose some groups, especially women, to more coercive forms of corruption.
