Peer-reviewed article
Sexualised violence against children: a review of laws and policies in Kenya
Cynthia Khamala Wangamati, Gladys Yegon, Johanne Sundby, Ruth J. Prince ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This review examines laws and policies in Kenya that address child sexual abuse (CSA). The study finds that Kenya has protective laws with harsh penalties for sexual offences and provides free legal and medical services to survivors. However, significant gaps exist: there is no legislation on age-appropriate sexuality education, no reparations for survivors in criminal proceedings, and CSA screening procedures are missing from national protocols for managing sexual violence.
Key points
- Kenya has laws on child protection with harsh penalties for sexual offences against children
- Survivors of CSA are entitled to free legal and medical services
- No reparations are offered to survivors through criminal proceedings
- No legislation exists for age-appropriate comprehensive sexuality education
- National standard operating procedures for managing sexual violence lack CSA screening procedures
Limitations
This is a policy review document that examines the legal and policy framework but does not provide data on the actual implementation of these laws, their effectiveness in practice, or the prevalence and outcomes of CSA cases in Kenya. It cannot tell us whether survivors actually access the services they are entitled to or how consistently the protective laws are enforced.
Abstract
Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a major global health challenge. Extant literature shows that CSA is prevalent in Kenya. As a signatory of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, the Kenyan government is mandated to ensure that children are protected from sexual abuse through sound laws and policies. This paper reviews existing laws and policies on CSA and highlights their strengths and weaknesses. Our findings indicate that laws on child protection exist and are protective to a large extent, as harsh penalties are outlined for sexual offences. Survivors of CSA are entitled to free legal and medical services. However, there are no reparations offered to survivors in criminal proceedings. Moreover, there is no legislation on age-appropriate comprehensive sexuality education which plays an important role in cultivating positive gender norms and describing what constitutes CSA and reporting procedures. The national standard operating procedures for the management of sexual violence against children lack CSA screening procedures. There is urgent need for review of these laws and policies and development of multisectoral protocols at the national and county level, that outline roles and responsibilities for various service providers, supervisory and accountability measures and referral networks.