Kenya: Alarming rise of child sex abuse

A report by the Kenyan NGO, CRADLE, shows that 79 percent of girls between 13 and 15 years of age have been sexually abused; 21 percent among boys.

Friday, October 02, 2009

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A non-governmental organization in Kenya has released a report raising alarm over growing sexual abuse of children.

The report by CRADLE says sexual abuse of children continues to rise, two years after the enactment of the Sexual Offences Act. Abuse of children accounts for 73 percent of all reported cases.

According to the report, 79 percent of girls between the ages of 13 and 15 years and 21 percent of boys in the same age bracket have been sexually abused.

The most common forms of abuse include defilement, sodomy, incest, sexual assault, child pornography, defilement of mentally impaired children and child sexual exploitation.

The report also says that despite the government's efforts to stamp it out, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) continues among children mostly due to cultural persuasions.

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Early marriages and cohabitation with minors were also cited as a form of sexual violence, representing five percent of reported cases.

During the launch of the report, CRADLE programme manager Brian Weke said: “We have drafted a Victims Support Bill which seeks emotional support and social support including compensation for survivors of sexual offences.”

The organization also called on the government to invest in a better prosecution process for child sex abuse cases.

The report recommends reforms in law implementation, including empowerment of courts and investment in modern methods of gathering evidence on child sexual abuses and proper prosecution of cases.

The report also recommends enhancing medico-legal links in cases of sexual violence, monitoring cases of violence and need to enact laws and policies to respond to emerging cases of violence such as cyberspace crimes.

Source: CISA