AFRICANEWS

ChildRights

Kenya

Victims of social policy changes

Structural Adjustment Programme (SAPs) has contributed to the rising cases of violence among the children either as perpetrators or victims.

The report by the African Network for the Prevention and Protection Against Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPPCAN) entitled "Children's problems in Kibera", highlights the "influx of private schools and clinics, exorbitant School levies leading to high drop out rates, rising cost of education, increase in rents, and the withdrawal of free education as the notable consequences of SAPs."

The report is a product of a study conducted between 1998 and 2001 in order to ascertain the effects of social policy changes on children at risk of violence.

The study was carried out in four countries namely, Kenya, Cote d 'Ivoire, Nicaragua, and Canada. In Kenya the study was implemented by ANPPCAN regional office and the University of Nairobi's Department of sociology in collaboration with four community-based organizations from Nairobi's Kibera slums which comprises of four slum villages.

The study was collaborative in nature and aimed at involving several institutions within the country and between the participating countries. The methodology of study was participatory-with the involvement of stakeholders such as Universities, Religious organizations, government ministries, NGOs and communities.

The main objectives of the study were to examine the consequences of identified social policy changes (Structural Adjustment Programmes incase of Kenya) which have a direct or indirect bearing on the risk of violence among children and to collaboratively identify options for action plans by stakeholders.

The Kenyan case study identified Cost sharing in the provision of services and removal of subsidies to the poor and how they expose the children to the risk of violence either as victims or perpetrators.

Different methods were used to get the desired information. They included reviewing of materials related to SAPS and children in general, focus Group Discussions and tracing the life history of some children.

In total, 593 individuals (294 adolescent children-including, domestic workers, children from the streets and those in rehabilitation and 299 adults) were interviewed. The adults were drawn from four government ministries, Home Affairs, Health, Labour, and Education. Others were officials from the donor community - World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), Department for International Development (DFID), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Danish Agency for International Development (DANIDA), while others came from CARE-Kenya, World Vision, Kenya Catholic Secretariat, National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK), and the Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU). The study also included 30 community leaders from Kibera slums and a total of nine political leaders from Kanu, DP, and FORD-KENYA.

According to the report most school age children are not in school due to poverty occasioned by SAPs.

As a result, most of the male children abuse drugs and alcohol while the female ones - apart from substance abuse - are victims of early pregnancies and marriages. "The high rents charged by shack owners have forced children and youth to share single rooms with their parents and relatives, leading to early sexual exposure and incest," says the report. Due to overcrowding in the shacks, some children are forced to sleep on the streets, exposing them to more risks of violence.

The report further adds that there are too many overcrowded private primary schools that charge higher fees but have no trained teachers. Children graduating from such schools normally perform poorly. There is hardly any space for children to play and the state of sanitation and general hygiene is poor, leading to frequent disease outbreaks. While Typhoid and Malaria were found to be common among children aged below 12, sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) including HIV/AIDS were found to be rampant among those aged 13-17 years. Complications arising from back street abortions were also common among females in this age bracket. According to the report, poverty has pushed the female children into the worst forms of child labour - prostitution, selling of illicit brews, bartending and trafficking of drugs - all of which expose them to violence both as victims and perpetrators.

Following the findings of the study, members of the Kibera community have already started mobilizing themselves with a view to finding lasting solutions to the problems accessioned by SAPS.

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