A lobby group wants Parliament to repeal a section of the Sexual Offences Act of 2006 it says serves to portray women and children as liars in cases of sexual abuse.
The Center for Rights Education and Awareness said some sections of the Act are hampering the fight against sexual violence.
According to CREAW, Section 8(5) states that a person charged with defilement or a sexual offence can defend themselves if it is proven that such a child deceived the accused into believing that he or she was over 18 years and the accused reasonably believe this.
“The Sexual Offences Act in Section 8(5) provides a defence that serves to entrench stereotypes of women and children as liars in cases of sexual violence,” the report by the lobby group read.
It also cited that Section 8 criminalises male children in consensual adolescent sex and victimises female children.
The lobby said victims of sexual offences are not treated with the empathy they deserve by police officers and health workers.
The organisation is also lobbying for amendment of Section 8 of the Act to provide equitable treatment of all children in criminalised consensual adolescent sex.
CREAW made a number of recommendations to bridge the gap in the enactment of the Act, such as providing training to the police, the Judiciary and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions on how to better handle sexual offence cases.
They recommended that the Ministry of Health collaborate with other state agencies to revise the National Policy on Management of Sexual Violence to include referral systems.
“The reporting and referral systems should place obligations on healthcare providers, custodians and guardians to refer matters of sexual violence to the Kenya Police Service for child victims of sexual violence,” the brief reads.
CREAW hopes that the statistics around sexual violence will significantly improve if stakeholders follow their recommendations.
They further advised the civil society to reflect on the role they play in the lives of survivors.
“Turning victims into tools to serve the criminal justice system instead of making the justice system serve victims works contrary to the well-being of sexual offence survivors,” they concluded.
Edited by A.N