Effects of Sexual Violence on young Girls’ self Esteem in Makueni County

Abstract

This is a cross-sectional study on the effects of Sexual Violence on young girls’ self-esteem in Makueni County. Specifically, the study set to establish the types of sexual violence that young girls’ experience, the influence that those types of sexual violence have on the young girls’ self-worth and the mitigation strategies to counter the effects of sexual violence on the self-esteem of young girls’ in Makueni county. Survey questionnaires, Key informant interviews and case narratives were used for data collection. The findings indicate that Incest at (39%) was the most common type of sexual violence, followed by Defilement (27%), Oral sex (25%) was also reported a common type of SV and Others (9%).The study also established that the girls feel heavily stigmatized by family, peers and the community at large hence withdrawal from normal life activities which in most cases leads to; post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, suicidal tendencies, anxiety among others. All these lead to a negative effect on the self-esteem of the girls, meaning they have low self worth. The study recommends that Addressing community stigma is vital for any interventions at the community level to be effective. Mass awareness campaigns should be carried out in the community among groups such as women groups, churches and schools. Local administration, the police and the courts should aim at ensuring social justice, legal justice and harsh punishment be used to address sexual violence. There is need to involve men and let them take the lead in advocacy campaigns on addressing Sexual Violence and ensuring the wellbeing of the survivors. Also, it is vital to train paralegals and community health workers on sexual violence cases to enable them to bring the services at the one stop GBVRC closer to the people.