The Sexual Offenses Act 2006 defines defilement as an act which causes sexual penetration with a child (anyone under the age of 18 years). While the Sexual Offenses Act 2006 is a good framework for safeguarding for women and girls in Kenya, I am also learning that addressing childhood sexual offenses requires common sense and restraints. Here’s the ugly truth I am learning about childhood sexual offenses.
True justice for children must be blind to gender. It must protect the girl from exploitation and protect the boy from false accusation, for a child victim is a child victim, and an injustice to one is a threat to all.
The Sexual Offenses Act 2006 defines defilement as an act which causes sexual penetration with a child (anyone under the age of 18 years). While the Sexual Offenses Act provides a safeguarding framework for women and girls, I am also learning it can be a tool that can bury boys alive, if we don’t use common sense and restraints while addressing childhood sexual offenses.
For four years, I have been immersed in the realities of crime, conflict, stigma and trauma through Lifesong Kenya. But nothing prepared me for the current situation I am involved in for the past week or so. Maverick, a boy whose mother works at Lifesong Kenya, has been accused and arrested by the police for sexually molesting a girl, after the two of them engaged in oral sex.
This speaks volumes about societal biasness that view girls as victims and boys as potential perpetrators, without carrying out investigations can paint a narrative that is incomplete, and sometimes, tragically wrong.
When the girl shares she has been watching porn with an elder sister, it points to an underlying issue that calls for an alternative approach. And, when a senior police officer is quick to arrest a boy who is a victim of coercion, naivety and innocence, it shows how as a society we are failing to protect all children regardless of their gender.
Boys who have been accused of engaging in childhood sexual offenses deserve a fair fighting chance. Otherwise, their cases are likely to be buried through false accusations, shoddy investigations and a system that is designed to sideline boys.
– Lucy Nduku Raphael, Nduku Njagi & Company Advocates
Addressing Childhood Sexual Offenses
Through my work with boys who have endured sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment, I am learning, daily, that boys can be, and are also, vulnerable and helpless victims who need the same care and protection that we extend to girls. Boys can be abused, violated and yes, framed and victimized for the very crimes that Lifesong Kenya is fighting to end.
While we are fighting to protect all children from childhood sexual exploitation, we must ensure that the Sexual Offenses Act doesn’t become a tool that can be used to bury innocent boys alive. While dealing with sexual offenses involving children, we must ask the following questions:-
Can the same law be weaponized to silence and destroy the lives of vulnerable, naive and innocent boys?
Can a case of two children who have been caught up in an act of ‘experimenting’ what they have watched in porn videos be treated with a lot of grace and restraint?
Can the children involved not be subjected to punitive law but to care and protection, which is restorative in nature?
Key Take Aways
According to Lucy Raphael, a renowned lawyer, boys who have been accused of engaging in childhood sexual offenses deserve a fair fighting chance. Otherwise, their cases are likely to be buried through false accusations, shoddy investigations and a system that is designed to sideline boys.
Our fight for justice must be anchored in child safety, protection and care, regardless of gender. True leadership in this space requires us to hold two opposing truths: that childhood sexual abuse is rampant, and that accusations can be complex, divisive and sometimes false.
We must, therefore, pursue justice for victims of childhood sexual offenses while safeguarding the presumption of innocence for all children. At Lifesong Kenya, we will continue this fight. We welcome you to join us as we strive for a more complete, gender-neutral vision of childhood safety, care and protection.
