Elsevier

Child Abuse & Neglect

Volume 28, Issue 8, August 2004, Pages 833-844
Child Abuse & Neglect

Child sexual abuse in Tanzania and Kenya

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2003.11.022Get rights and content

Abstract

Objective:

Most research on child abuse in Tanzania and Kenya is unpublished in the international literature. The purpose of this paper is to examine the various commentaries and reports extant, toward an overview of the nature and frequency of child sexual abuse in Tanzania and Kenya.

Methods:

Contacts were made with academics, government departments, NGOs, and UN agencies. This was followed by a field trip in the summer of 2001 where all available reports were examined and a wide range of interviews conducted.

Results:

Little empirical data exist on child sexual abuse in Tanzania. It is widely perceived that it may be increasing as a result of AIDS sufferers’ attempts to “cleanse” themselves. The breakdown of traditional childcare systems, foreign influences, poverty, and the lowly position of girls in society are also implicated. More research has been conducted in Kenya. It is clear that first coitus occurs at a young age for many Kenyan children and adolescents. Also, a degree of force, trickery, or material exchange is not uncommon in adolescent sexual relations.

Conclusions:

Child sexual abuse is under-researched in Tanzania and Kenya. Studies by UN agencies such as United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) have focused on the commercial sexual exploitation of children, to the neglect of more pervasive abuse in children’s own communities by family, relatives, and neighbors. Nationwide surveys of the general population are required for an empirical understanding of this topic. Given the high incidence of AIDS/HIV in both countries, it is important to know if the epidemic is increasing the risk of rape or incest for children.

Résumé

Objectif:

En Tanzanie et au Kenya, la plupart des recherches sur la maltraitance ne sont pas publiées dans la littérature internationale. Le but de cet article fut de passer en revue les divers commentaires et rapports qui existent, afin d’obtenir une vue d’ensemble sur la nature et la fréquence des mauvais traitements sexuels dans ces deux pays.

Méthode:

On a d’abord contacté le personnel enseignant dans des universités, les autorités gouvernementales, les organismes non-gouvernementaux et les agences des Nations Unies, suivi de rencontres sur le champs durant l’été 2001, alors que tous les rapports disponibles ont été examinés et une vaste gamme d’entrevues ont été menées.

Résultats:

Il existe peu de données empiriques sur la maltraitance en Tanzanie. Plusieurs sont d’avis qu’elle est à la hausse parce que les personnes atteintes du CIDA chercheraient à se “purifier”. La dissolution des systèmes traditionnels de garde de l’enfance, les influences étrangères, la pauvreté et le statut inférieur du sexe féminin dans cette société sont aussi des facteurs pouvant expliquer cette hausse. Au Kenya, il existe une plus grande quantité de recherches. Il est clair que très tôt dans la vie, les enfants et des adolescents de ce pays sont initiés au coït. Aussi, la force, les ruses et l’échange de biens matériels accompagnent trop souvent les relations sexuelles chez les adolescents.

Conclusions:

Au Kenya et en Tanzanie, il existe une pénurie de recherches sur les abus sexuels. Des études menées par les agences des Nations Unies telles que l’UNICEF et l’Organisme international du travail se sont penchées sur la question de l’exploitation sexuelle commerciale au détriment des formes de maltraitance plus courantes perpétrées par les membres de la famille et les voisins. Il faudra mener des enquêtes nationales pour obtenir un aperçu empirique de cette problématique. Étant donné le taux élevé du CIDA et du VHI dans les deux pays, il est nécessaire de savoir si cette épidémie occasionne des taux plus élevés de viol ou d’inceste chez les enfants.

Resumen

Objetivo:

La mayoría de la investigación sobre maltrato infantil en Tanzania y Kenya no se ha publicado en la literatura internacional. El objetivo de este artículo es examinar varios informes y comentarios para disponer de una visión general sobre la naturaleza y la frecuencia del abuso sexual infantil en Tanzania y Kenya.

Método:

Se llevaron a cabo contactos con académicos, departamentos del gobierno, ONGs y agencias de las Naciones Unidas. Esto fue seguido de un trabajo de campo en el que se revisaron todos los informes disponibles y se realizaron un amplio rango de entrevistas.

Resultados:

Existen pocos datos empíricos sobre el abuso sexual en Tanzania. Se percibe que puede aumentar como resultado de los intentos de enfermos de SIDA por favorecer su “curación”. La ruptura de los sistemas de cuidado tradicionales, las influencias extranjeras, la pobreza y la baja posición de las mujeres en la sociedad son también factores implicados. Se han llevado a cabo más investigaciones en Kenya que en Tanzania. La primera relación sexual se produce a una edad muy temprana en los niños y adolescentes de Kenya. Además, no es infrecuente la existencia en las relaciones sexuales con adolescentes de uso de la fuerza, engaño o intercambio material.

Conclusiones:

El abuso sexual infantil está infrainvestigado en Kenya y Tanzania. Los estudios llevados a cabo por agencias de las Naciones Unidas como UNICEF y la OIT se han focalizado en la explotación sexual comercial de los niños y se han abandonado otras formas de maltrato por parte de los padres, otros familiares, vecinos y la comunidad. Se requiere el desarrollo de estudios nacionales llevados a cabo con la población general para alcanzar un entendimiento empírico de este tema. Dada la alta incidencia de SIDA en ambos países, es importante conocer si la epidemia está aumentando el riesgo de violación infantil o incesto.

Introduction

Child sexual abuse currently receives widespread media and public attention in both Tanzania and Kenya, and high profile advocacy groups have successfully impacted on the formation of legislation and government policy in both countries. A range of research initiatives has examined aspects of child sexual abuse throughout the region. However, such research generally does not appear in the international peer-reviewed literature (see Lalor, in press, for a review of the literature on child sexual abuse in sub-Saharan Africa). The purpose of this paper is to examine the various commentaries and reports extant, towards an overview of the nature and prevalence of child sexual abuse in Tanzania and Kenya. This region was selected for study because of its relatively well-established research community (which is largely anglophone) and because these two neighboring East African countries, which share some linguistic, cultural, and historical similarities, also provide a contrast because of differing experiences of colonization and differing levels of development. A field trip was undertaken in the summer of 2001 where interviews with local and international Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), UN agencies, church organizations, AIDS/HIV clinics, advocacy groups, and counseling centers were conducted. A review of all available published and unpublished literature was also undertaken.

Section snippets

Tanzanian research on child sexual abuse

Few studies have directly examined the sexual abuse of children in Tanzania. Information is typically anecdotal, attitudinal, based on a small sample groups, and has little external validity (outside selected groups such as street children or juvenile prostitutes). However, some studies do offer insights into the nature and incidence of child sexual abuse.

Dungy and Mhagama (2000) interviewed children in selected villages and various community leaders (police, health personnel, village leaders,

Explanations for the perceived increase of child sexual abuse in Tanzania

A feature of the debate on child sexual abuse in Tanzania is the consensus that this is a novel phenomenon caused by perpetrators’ efforts to cure themselves of AIDS/HIV, the breakdown of the traditional communal child care system, the influence of “foreign cultures,” widespread poverty, and finally, the powerless position of girls and women in society. Indeed, these explanations are common throughout sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) (Lalor, in press).

Kenyan research on child sexual abuse

Relative to Tanzania, considerably more research activity occurs in Kenya, reflecting its greater wealth and development. However, it is still the case that most of the research relating to child sexual abuse in Kenya is in the form of unpublished reports. The main studies are examined below.

The African Network for the Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPPCAN, 2000) surveyed 501 children, in both rural and urban areas, regarding child abuse and children’s rights. A

Discussion

The sexual abuse of children is receiving growing attention in Tanzania. It is widely held that “foreign influences” are responsible, and this is reflected in the Government Child Development Policy. Increasingly, this issue is receiving widespread media coverage, but commentary largely occurs within an empirical vacuum.

In Kenya, considerably more research into adolescent sexuality has been conducted, relative to Tanzania. Much of this research has been motivated by the spread of the AIDS/HIV

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This study was supported by grant SF01/36 from the Dublin Institute of Technology.

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