Poverty, drought push Kilifi girls to engage in sex for food
Women in Ganze trek long distances to fetch water. The area is currently experiencing drought forcing many families to go hungry with school girls seeking other means to get food.
What you need to know:
- Lorry drivers and boda boda operators in Ganze Sub-county prey on girls as young as 15 years.
- Many families are starving due to the current drought and children are going to school without food.
- The school feeding program played a great role in retaining girls in schools because even if they did not have food at home, they were assured of a meal in school.
There is public outcry in Kilifi as young girls engage in sex for food.
In Mitangani Sub-location in Ganze Sub-county, lorry drivers ferrying charcoal to Mombasa and Nairobi and boda boda operators employed by foreign herders to sell milk and transport Miraa, prey on girls as young as 15 years.
Speaking to nation.africa at Ndharako Trading Centre in Gede Sub-location, Jila Primary School PTA member Ms Regina Barisa said lack of feeding programs in schools have contributed to most girls from poor families engaging in sex for food.
“Many families are starving due to the current drought and children are going to school without food; this has led to them engaging in sex with the lorry drivers and boda boda operators,” she said.
She noted that majority of pupils are emaciated and starve in schools.
"We have had incidents where pupils have suddenly collapsed in class or on parade in the morning; and because we are aware of the challenges, we buy them food as first aid and they get fine," said Ms Barisa.
She disclosed that most of the girls got pregnant and dropped out of school, and are now suffering in the villages.
"We have pupils from ages 11, 12 and 13 in Class Four and Six who are pregnant. Some are about seven months pregnant and this is happening because of the high rate of poverty in our area," she added.
Charcoal production
Gede Sub-location is among areas hard hit by drought, with the community lacking food and water. Majority of the residents depend on charcoal production for a livelihood while some are livestock farmers but due to financial challenges, parents are unable to provide food and other basics for their families.
The presence of foreign herders in the area searching for water and pasture, she added, has contributed to school boys dropping out of school to work as boda boda operators.
This, Ms Barisa said, has given them have easy access to money, enabling them to lure the girls for sex. The boys earn between Sh6,000 and Sh9, 000 per month.
“The school feeding program played a great role in retaining girls in schools because even if they did not have food at home, they were assured of a meal in school,” she said.
She also noted that the high rate of school dropouts among the boys is alarming and posed a security threat in the area.
"The boys have been taught how to get quick money but what will happen in case the herders decide to migrate? They will be criminals,” added Ms Barisa.
A total of 61 candidates, 33 girls and 28 boys, at the school are seating their KCPE that started on Monday. Only two girls are pregnant.
At the Kilifi County Gender-Based Violence Recovery Centre (GBVRC) majority of the sexual gender-based violence survivors who are minors, disclosed that the perpetrators sometimes provide them with money for food while at school.
A medical officer who is not authorised to speak to the press, said most of the girls revealed that their parents could not provide them with breakfast before they leave for school.
Ante-natal clinics
“The girls are being given money because they are desperate. Majority are aged below 15 years, and are pregnant. By the time they come to us, they are ready for ante-natal clinics, yet most parents are never aware their daughters have conceived," said the medical officer.
The officer said that in most cases the girls do not know the second name of the perpetrator while majority of the survivors aged 16 years and below, are married.
"The government should revive the school feeding programs in primary schools to save the vulnerable girls from the perpetrators and retain them in school instead of getting married at a very young age,” added the officer.
Statistics from the Kilifi County Ministry of Education shows that 1,151 primary and secondary school girls got pregnant during the Covid-19 break.
Magarini and Kilifi South Sub-counties had the highest number pregnant girls at 221and 77 respectively.
Ganze Sub-county had 148 primary school pregnancies and 20 in secondary school. Malindi recorded 116 pregnancies in primary school and 49 in secondary.
Kaloleni had 80 in primary school and 50 in secondary schools. Kilifi North Sub-county had 23 pregnancies in primary schools and 40 in secondary.
Chonyi Sub-county had an equal number of 26 pregnant girls in both primary and secondary schools.
Rabai Sub-county had 18 and 24 pregnant girls for primary and secondary school respectively, while Kauma Sub-county recorded eight cases of pregnant girls in primary schools.
A report from the Kilifi County Department of Health shows that 7,457 girls aged between 10 and19 years are pregnant in the county. Those aged between 10-14 years were 186 and 7,271 are aged between 15 years-19 years.
