Recent reports show a worrying rise in teenage pregnancies across Kenya. In Meru County alone, over 4,000 teenage girls were recorded pregnant within just five months, with some as young as 13.
Behind those numbers are not “careless girls,” as some claim, but grown men who prey on children. Men who exploit poverty, offer gifts, or manipulate young girls for sex. Every time these stories make headlines, someone says, “But she knew what she was doing.”
Honestly, that statement is both ignorant and cruel. A 16-year-old is a child by every legal, moral, and psychological standard. Yet, society still finds ways to blame her while excusing the adult who violated her. A 16-year-old is a child. The law says so. Science says so. Common sense says so. Yet, somehow, when she becomes pregnant, society suddenly treats her like an adult who “should have known better”.
The Sexual Offences Act of Kenya is clear, any sexual act with a person under 18 is defilement, punishable by law. There are no exceptions, no loopholes and no “consent” when the person involved is a minor. Instead of outrage, we often hear excuses. Instead of justice, we get negotiations between families.
Instead of protection, we get silence. When schools close, cases of teenage pregnancies tend to rise. The reason is simple, schools act as protective spaces.
Once that structure disappears, many girls become vulnerable to predatory behaviour, especially from men in positions of power or proximity. Yet, our national response continues to focus only on “teaching girls to be careful”.
We tell girls to stay home, dress properly, avoid certain places, and say no. But who is teaching men not to chase after schoolgirls? Who is reminding them that a child’s body is not their playground? It is shocking how comfortably we ignore the perpetrators.
Let’s call this for what it truly is, cowardice disguised as masculinity. If a man cannot convince a woman his age to sleep with him, what gives him the right to manipulate a child barely old enough to understand her own body?
That’s not attraction. It’s exploitation. It’s abuse. Society should never normalise disgusting behaviour. A child cannot seduce a grown man. The responsibility lies entirely with the adult who should know better. She is a child and a victim of a system that keeps failing to protect her.
Yes, we continue to teach girls because the burden of the act falls squarely on them. It’s the girl who gets pregnant, drops out of school, faces stigma, and loses her dreams while the man responsible walks free, unbothered and unpunished. That imbalance is the heart of the problem.
Protecting girls means confronting men. It means reporting offenders, even when they are relatives, teachers, neighbours, or boda boda riders. It means rejecting “out-of-court settlements” and demanding justice. It means understanding that when a child is exploited, there is no debate only a crime.
We cannot keep having community meetings to “resolve” defilement cases. There is nothing to negotiate. A child cannot consent. A man who sleeps with a child is a criminal. And a society that excuses him is broken.
The time for excuses is over. We must shift the conversation from “why did she get pregnant?” to “who got her pregnant and why is he still free?” Let’s start talking about enforcing defilement laws, educating boys on consent and respect, creating safe spaces for girls when schools are closed, and ending the culture of victim-blaming once and for all.
Because protecting minors is not a favour, it’s our collective responsibility. And until we stop blaming the girls and start holding men accountable, teenage pregnancy will remain not just a health issue, but a mirror reflecting our society’s moral failure.
