This archive report was first published on 6 June 2020.
Nairobi - The COVID-19 pandemic has seen a surge in child abuse cases in Kenya, with at least 30 children being abused every week, according to the Childline centre.
Statistics from the centre show that physical abuse, defilement, and child neglect are the top forms of child abuse, with cases peaking during the pandemic period.
Between May 25 and May 31, 52 children were reportedly abused, with an average of seven or more children being abused every day.
Childline Kenya executive director Martha Sunda attributed the rise in cases to the fact that many children do not report abuse, and when they do, nothing is done to address the issue.
“The figures could be much more but there are many children who do not report, and others report to their parents and guardians but nothing is done. Sadly, most of the abuse cases are happening at home,” Sunda said.
Child marriages, emotional abuse, and abandonment are also listed as rising forms of child abuse, with many cases reported in Nairobi.
However, Childline Kenya's Sunda noted that the high number of cases reported in Nairobi may be due to the ease of connectivity, which allows children and witnesses to report abuse.
“Someone needs to stop this madness. Children are getting ruined as parents put their focus on other things,” said Dorcas Oloo, a primary school teacher who has received calls from panicked children about abuse they are facing.
Volunteer social worker Maimuna Omar noted that since the COVID-19 curfew and restricted movement were declared, many children have run away from home due to abuse they are facing.
“I had a young boy, about eight years old, knocking on my door. He was shaking. His father would mercilessly beat him for minor mistakes. Parents are stressed and piling it on their children,” Omar said.
The pandemic has also seen an increase in cases of child maintenance, with over 1,000 parents calling the Childline centre to complain about child maintenance.
Titus Njogu, a custody law expert, noted that the restricted movement has put a lot of pressure on parents with shared custody, and the children caught in between the arrangement getting emotionally tortured.
“Parents argue about custody while children are listening. In their young minds, the children start thinking they are the reason their parents are unhappy. We have a lot of depressed children out here in situations they have no control of,” Njogu said.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) also warned of an increase in reported cases of offences against children during online learning.
“In four such reported cases, the predators sent children messages in their inboxes complimenting their looks then after gaining their trust, went ahead to ask them for their nude images among other despicable acts,” read a report from DCI.
