Abuse of boys on the rise, new report says

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By LILLIAN ONYANGO laonyango@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Wednesday, August 22  2012 at  23:30

The number of boys being sexually abused has increased, a new report reveals.

Children’s rights organisation, Cradle, in its annual report indicates that defilement remains top on the list of abuse despite the introduction of stricter law.

Cradle official Brian Weke said at the annual Inter-Generational Children Conference in Nairobi on Tuesday that the number of victims not seeking justice over abuse cases had also risen.

Mr Weke said stigmatisation in the family, in cases where the abuser was a relative, poverty and local mechanisms were the main reasons why victims were not reporting the cases.

The report found that of the 1,116 cases the Cradle handled last year, 67 per cent were of sexual abuse, child trafficking made up 17 per cent while physical abuse accounted for 15 per cent of the cases.

The report also indicates that those aged between 13 and 15 years were the most abused.

Justice minister Eugene Wamalwa, who opened the conference, said the P3 form requirement for victims of abuse should be done away with as it was frustrating those seeking justice.

“The burden of proof should not be made unnecessarily heavy for victims,” he said.

“There can be other ways we can get evidence of such abuse.”

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Early this month, Lamu district children’s officer Maxwell Ntitima raised the alarm over the rise in the number of child abuse cases in Lamu County.

Mr Ntitima said more than 100 cases had been reported to his office, noting that abuses were mainly committed by fathers.

The officer attributed the situation to the high rate of divorce in the region.

A child court is set to be put up in the area to handle such cases.