Dismissal of 1,000 sex abuse teachers welcomed
Plan welcomes the sacking of more than 1,000 teachers who sexually abused girls in Kenya. The Kenyan government has revealed that the teachers were dismissed over the last two years for abusing pupils aged mostly between 12 and 15. Last year 600 male teachers were sacked and so far this year 550 teachers have lost their jobs for inappropriate behaviour, including impregnating girls.
A confidential helpline for victims supported by Plan has helped reveal the real extent of the problem. The toll-free service, which is available on mobile phones, led to a flood of calls from children, particularly in rural areas.
John Morris, Country Director of Plan in Kenya said: “This is an encouraging indication of the Kenya public’s growing refusal to accept serious child abuse, including by those in authority. School should be a place where children can learn in safety not where they are abused by the very people entrusted with their care and learning”.
Sexual violence against children has serious health consequences: unwanted pregnancy, unsafe abortion, and social consequences: under performance at school, stopping children from enrolling, dropping out of school, playing truant, learning difficulties. A joint report with Plan and Save the Children in Mali showed that 95% of parents believe sexual violence against girls is a barrier to their education.
Learn Without Fear in Kenya
Teachers are our main allies in the Learn Without Fear campaign. It is only through working with teachers on ways to run a violence free classroom and on the importance of reporting incidences of violence, that children will ever experience an education free from fear.
In Kenya, Plan has supported recent new guidelines for teachers and is working on further reporting structures which helps hold perpetrators to account, as referrals are increasingly directed at relevant authorities such as the Children's department at the district level, child rights committees at community level, medical officers and the police.
The situation in Kenya is unfortunately not an anomaly. There is currently little data on sexual violence against children in schools - due to the shame often felt by the victim and their lack of confidence, often justifiably, that reporting will lead to action against the perpetrator. The World Health Organization estimated 150 million girls and 73 million boys were affected by sexual violence in schools in 2002.
