Adolescent Attitudes Towards The Provision And Use Of Contraceptives In Kamukunji Constituency, Nairobi City County

Abstract

This is a descriptive survey study of the adolescents’ experiences of sexual exploitation and abuse in public mixed day secondary schools in Nairobi City County, Kenya. The study specifically set out to: determine the forms of sexual exploitation and abuse on girls and boys; examine the effects of sexual exploitation and abuse on girls and boys; and establish the coping mechanism for sexual exploitation and abuse by girls and boys in public mixed day secondary schools in Nairobi City County. Quantitative and qualitative approaches were used in collecting and analysing data while Social Learning Theory guided the inquiry. Through the application of this theory, it was possible to establish the forms of SEA experienced by the adolescents, the effects and the coping mechanisms adopted by the girls and boys as a result of observation, imitation and modelling. The respondents for the questionnaires, the key informant interviews and case narratives were selected through purposive sampling. Quantitative data was analyzed by the use of descriptive statistics while qualitative data were coded and analysed thematically in line with the study objectives and verbatim quotes used to project the voices of the participants. The study findings indicate that adolescents in public mixed day schools in Nairobi City County encounter an array of sexual exploitation and abuse; including verbal harassment and transactional sex. The dynamics around perpetrators range from students themselves, teachers and other community members. These abuses affect adolescents’ psycho-social health, contribute to high school dropouts and absenteeism. Coping mechanisms developed by the survivors do not offer them psychological relief from the trauma but they permeate memories of the act and perpetuate the vice. For instance, self-reporting, sleeping, trivializing of the abuse, revenge and self-neglect. The study concludes that SEA has been normalized in the society and institutions of learning. Secondary schools have been sexualized, which disenfranchises adolescent girls more than boys and as such lowering girls’ agency and power to grow and contribute to the development agenda. The study recommends that all the stakeholders in the education sector should adopt a multi-agency and inter-agency approach in addressing SEA among adolescents in schools focusing on the root causes and facilitation of more intensive in-service training for teachers on their role in gender construction. Also, the study recommends integrating communities and families as part of the holistic approach in addressing sexual exploitation and abuse. These groups should help in identifying the links between sexual violence at school and at home with focus on the stimulating factors that operate in and outside the school environment. Additionally, the County and National governments should develop strategies to suppress the multifaceted nature of sexual exploitation and abuse focusing on the root causes of this form of gender based violence.