Let’s stand up for children’s rights

The level at which Kenyan children are exposed to rights abuses is astounding. While there have been meaningful efforts to protect child rights, the government’s failure to follow through these initiatives — at legislative or policy levels ­— leaves a lot to be desired.

In the 21st Century, it’s troubling that child labour still exists. Despite the rollout of free education, many children are out of school and are suffering at the hands of the very people supposed to protect them.

Counties in North Eastern are home to nearly half of Kenya’s 852,000 children out of school. Most affected are girls, many of whom face forced marriages, outmoded cultures and obstacles associated with lack of information on sexuality.

A recent report by a multi-agency team set up to look into the children’s justice system reveals that sexual offenses account for 69.48 per cent of all pending cases involving children, with the highest in Nairobi at 90.03 per cent, followed by Nyandarua at 79.33 per cent.

This week’s discovery of a high-end brothel in Nairobi where underage girls are exploited for sex offers a sneak preview into how reckless and irresponsible sections of our society have become.

The brothel in Ruaka is said to be a secret base where girls aged between 14 and 17 are sexually exploited in exchange for cash that ends up in the hands of self-centred brokers. These recurrent tales of abuses are heart-rending. We urge authorities to make child rights sacrosanct. The police, administrators and child welfare and protection officers have their work cut out for them.