Alarm over rampant sexual exploitation of young girls in Bungoma

Bungoma, Tuesday, June 13, 2023

KNA by Bronley Kidari/ Roseland Lumwamu 

Stakeholders in Bungoma County, championing for child rights have raised concerns over the high number of young girls engaging in sexual activities to earn a living.

Addressing the press Tuesday, the County Director of Gender, Moses Chebonya said it was sad to see girls as young as 15 years, being exploited sexually by older men for financial favours, mainly due to poverty and parental neglect.

“Widespread poverty within local homes and failure by some parents to shape their children into morally upright persons, has seen young girls being exposed to the streets at a tender age in search of love and acceptance, but instead ending up being sexually manipulated," Chebonya said.

He cited Kanduyi as the leading area in the commercial sex business. 

The Director said that the situation had further been aggravated by truck drivers who use the town centre as a parking lot for trucks heading to the Malaba border before crossing neighbouring Uganda.

These drivers as well as loaders use most of the idle time under their disposal to engage in illicit sex, he added.

Chebonya challenged stakeholders to take a walk at the centre during the evening hours as the trucks park to see for themselves how girls young of 15 years or even less sell their bodies with reckless abandon for money.

Chebonya said it was a very saddening and traumatizing experience since the concerned girl child is left overly exposed to all manner of sexually transmitted diseases and early pregnancies. 

A representative from the Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU), Bernard Wanyonyi said that the idea of the girl child being exploited sexually is a dangerous form of child labour.

Wanyonyi said that the United Nations (UN) had made a clear declaration in 2021 to end all forms of child Labour by 2025. “We had this declaration to end child labour by 2025, but it's seemingly impossible because we are not doing enough towards the agenda," he said.

He called on relevant stakeholders and the County government to reduce unending board meetings and spend more time on the ground to identify the source of the problem, with a view to implementing policies to combat the situation.

Bungoma County Commissioner, Thomas Sankei added his voice by calling on all law enforcement agencies to tighten "our loose ends and save the girl child."

Sankei issued a stern warning to parents neglecting their parenting roles that the long arm of the law would soon catch up with them. 

The county commissioner asked all stakeholders to join hands and ensure safety of both the girl child and also the boy child.

Courtesy ; K. N. A