Parents and community members in Homa Bay have been urged to take an active role in safeguarding adolescent girls against defilement during school holidays.
Most girls fall victims to vices such as defilement, premature sexual intercourse and teen pregnancies when they are at home.
Homa Bay is among counties in the country with high rate of teen pregnancies. Experts argue that this is contributed by high poverty indices.
Currently, schools have been closed across the country for holidays.
An educationist Moline Ngala said this is the time when parents and concerned members of the public should protect girls against sexual violence and teenage pregnancy.
“Many adolescent girls risk landing in the hands of sex pests if not protected. We wouldn’t want to have drop outs when schools reopen,” Ngala said.
Speaking during a fundraiser at Nyalienga Catholic Church in Kaochia, Rangwe constituency on Sunday, Ngala said defilement and teenage pregnancies contribute to the high rate of poverty as most victims are unable to proceed with their education.
According to Homa Bay County Sexual and Gender Based Violence Policy, the devolved unit has a defilement prevalence of 30.1 per cent.
Homa Bay Children Services Officer Joseph Otieno and his counterpart from Ndhiwa John Kabasa said they are handling cases where step fathers are accused of defiling their daughters.
This is causing worries to the officers considering that most cases happen in families where couples separate.
Otieno said several cases of men defiling their relatives have been reported to his office.
“Incest is rampant during holidays. Some relatives take advantage of their closeness with teen girls as relatives to sexually violate them,” Otieno said.
There is a concern that some cases will be reported when schools close.
Ngala challenged parents to be on the lookout for people who may target their children.
She asked residents of the county to report cases of sexual violence and work with law enforcers in reporting suspects as a way of dealing with the vice.
Education stakeholders advocating for gender rights were asked to empower boys as well.
“Let’s not put more emphasis only on girl child rights. Boys also need to be empowered because they too need to grow up and transform the society,” she said.
