Why Coastal counties are child abuse hotspots

Presidential Technical Working Group on GBV says coastal region was a preferred destination for paedophiles escaping from Europe. [File, Standard]

The Presidential Technical Working Group on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) has identified four coastal counties of Mombasa, Kilifi, Kwale, and Lamu as hotspots of child sex tourism.

The group chaired by former Deputy Chief Justice Nancy Baraza noted that poor girls in the four counties are lured into the exploitative situation with the promise of financial gains or jobs.

Dr Baraza said the vice was thriving in the region because of weak law enforcement. The group noted that the coastal region was also a preferred destination for paedophiles escaping from Europe.

The working group conducted the research in public and in camera hearings, consultations with GBV survivors, and visits to State and non-state institutions before compiling the report.

The report revealed that the increase in the child sex trade has also been linked to an influx of foreign paedophiles. In Malindi, expatriates run sex rackets in close cooperation with locals.

“In Ukunda and Msambweni, a resident drew a strong link between the region’s poverty levels and its positioning as a tourist hub, noting how this intersection increases the risk of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) against women and girls,” read part of the report.

Many of these tourists are older European citizens, particularly German, Italian, and Swiss, who exploit local poverty and weak police enforcement to escape prosecution.

A 2025 joint study by the International Human Rights Organisation and the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery, 2025 revealed that as many as 6,356 girls in the coastal counties are involved in casual sex for cash.

Up to 3,000 more girls and boys are in full-time sex work, it said; some are paid for the most horrific and abnormal acts.

Victor Kaudo of the Malindi Social Justice Centre says the organization receives about 10 cases of child sex exploitation monthly.

“In a month, we receive about 10 cases of children who have been sexually abused by tourists. Surprisingly, most of these victims are boys aged 12 and 16,” said Kaudo.

He said parents are mostly the ones who sell their young daughters and sons to aging white men and women in Malindi and Watamu for as low as Sh5000.

‘’These children go through harrowing sexual experiences in the hands of the old white tourist. In short, they are sex slaves, but for parents and relatives, a child with a white tourist as a girlfriend or boyfriend is the fastest way to get the family out of poverty,” said Kaudo. 

Sometimes young girls and boys are encouraged by their families to look for tourists who will cater to their family needs,’’ he added. 

Kaudo advised parents to look for alternative income-generating activities.

One victim of sex abuse, Maria, 17, said she got into the tourism sex industry at the age of 13 after the death of her grandmother. 

“I was 13 years old when my neighbour, whom I used to depend on after my grandmother’s death, introduced me to a mzungu who had come for  holiday in Malindi. At that time I was in Class Three; I had started schooling late,” Maria recalled.

She was given 100 dollars, which she shared equally with the neighbour. Later, shebecome a sex worker.