Cases project scenario of the boy child under siege

The phone rings. A counsellor by the name tag “April” picks it.

It is the voice, of a boy. He sounds distressed, but hangs up as soon as he says ‘hello.’

April leans back and waits for the phone to ring again. It is their practice to never call back, since the child might have stolen their abuser’s phone to call, and they do not want to land themselves in trouble.

“Let us hope he calls back. We have been receiving a lot of calls on abuse of young boys lately,” says Martha Sunda, Executive Director of the ChildLine Call Centre.

Her statement is reinforced by media reports of physical abuse over the years. In November last year, residents of Naivasha woke to news that a father had chopped off his step-son’s genitalia. The child was two years old. His mistake: relieving himself in bathing water as his step father cleaned him.

A few months later, another boy child was assaulted. This time, it was in Nakuru. He had been seriously beaten by his stepfather who broke his hand for being indisciplined. He also had burn marks across his body – permanent scars that told of physical abuse his mother said had been inflicted by her husband over the boy’s ‘naughtiness.’

UNDER SIEGE

Before then, a Form Two student at St Kizito Secondary School in Kakamega was admitted to hospital after three teachers beat him until he sustained serious injuries on his chest. He was being punished for having a relationship with a female student.

In 2016, a teacher from Subukia Primary School reportedly descended on 14-year-old David Ndung’u with kicks and blows over claims of performing poorly in class. By the time he was returning home, he could barely walk. A few days later, he succumbed to the injuries.

The cases project a scenario of the boy child under siege, especially from people entrusted to protect them.

Sunda says they are noticing a worrying trend. “We get a lot of calls and reports on physical abuse on boys. They are increasingly becoming victims of brutality,” she says.

She adds that unlike previously when the most dominant form of child abuse was neglect and sexual abuse, physical abuse on boys is steadily rising. “I think it is because boys tend to be more energetic, and can sometimes get rough. Society is also made to believe boys should be punished brutally,” she says.

She says they get an average 800 children and concerned adults calling the Helpline to report cases of abuse or receive counselling; and for those reporting physical violence, the number of boys seems to be higher.

Rebecca Theuri, Violence against Children Programme Officer at Save the Children in East and Southern Africa regional office, says they have also noticed a prevalence of physical violence, especially from those who purport to be punishing the child.

“People need to remember there is a total ban on corporal punishment in Kenya. Those who do it should face the law,” she told Saturday Standard.

She notes that from research, they have established that increasing economic pressure on parents and teachers could be pushing them to transfer the stress to their children.

Margaret Siru, a mother of 7 boys and one girl in Mathare, Nairobi, says she is often forced to beat up his sons because they are naughty.

“Ask all over Mathare. The men being felled by police for being criminals are those whose parents never caned them. If you are gentle with boys, you will be called to pick them from pits and bury them,” she says, adding there is a special place under her bed where she places ‘their medicine,’ meaning the cane.

Theuri advises parents to use alternative methods to discipline children, saying they are starting deliberate programs that focus on enlightening parents to be aware of the different developmental stages that a child undergoes, and what influences their behavior.

“There are times, especially during puberty when they may show rebellion and change of behavior. That is when they are likely to be beaten,” she says.

Statistics from the Childline Care Centre show that a child is likely to be abused between age 11 and 15. Sunda says they receive most distress calls from Nairobi, with children from informal settlements being prone to physical violence.

“Some of the cases are so serious, that a social worker has to work with the family to ensure the child is safe,” she says.

The harmonised East African Community (EAC) child protection policy (2016) indicates that Children constitute more than 50 per cent of EAC population and yet they face numerous challenges that can only be addressed when the member states recognize the potential threats child abuse poses to the entire continent.

“Children are vulnerable, and unless we all stand up and speak for them, we will all sink,” says Sunda.

“Talking to boys cannot work in slums. They understand only one language – the whip,” says Siru, perpetrating the belief that a child cannot prosper without being beaten.

ChildLine data reveals that parents go overboard when instilling discipline; a trend that pauses a great risk on the future of the children, and will affect them even as they grow into adults.