The Prevalence of Child Defilement in Kakamega County

Abstract

Child defilement is a global problem with enduring negative implications on a victim's well-being and behaviour patterns. However, it's scope and extent of social harm remains unclear due to rampant under- reportage caused by a culture of secrecy and related cultural inhibitions. Available data shows an increase in defilement cases by 7.7 percent in Kenya between 2015 and 2016. Additionally, Police statistics indicate a minimum of 200 cases of defilement nationally per week, with 10 whom are attributed to Kakamega County. The study therefore sought to establish the extent to which child defilement is associated with the prevailing socio- cultural and economic factors; substance abuse and family disintegration. It also sought to identify challenges involved in combating child defilement in the County. A descriptive survey design was employed to purposively pick and randomly select a sampling frame of 86 respondents comprising of 44 Gender Police Officers, 27 Social Workers, 9 Children Officers and 6 Probation Officers. Of the sampled respondents, seventy (70) of them were interviewed using a semi- structured questionnaire. The study established that child defilement is a significant problem that exposes children to early pregnancies and marriages; HIV/AIDS and psychological trauma; that majority of the defilements were perpetrated by persons known to the victim, namely family members and /or neighbours; that the perceived level of association between poverty and defilement was 95%, unemployment (58%), family disintegration (60%), alcoholism and drug abuse (73%) and negative cultural practices (26%). Additionally, teenage marriages, contributed to the problem of child defilement. Consequently, high levels of poverty, drug and alcohol abuse and ignorance of the illegality of the vice, appeared to be key challenges in the fight against child defilement. It was therefore concluded that child defilement can be fought more effectively by strengthening the existing, counselling, legal, child protection, rescue and gender recovery services. There is also need to increase awareness campaigns and capacity building among the relevant criminal justice agents. Additionally, eradication of drug and alcohol abuse is key to minimizing the problem. Finally, the problem can be dealt with more effectively through a collaborative multi-agency framework, specifically designed for tackling the vice.