Arrest men behind teen pregnancies

Students in class. [Courtesy]

‘More labor pain cases on exam day’, that was a headline in The Standard on March 23, 2021. The story was about teenage girls-turned mothers who joined some 1.2 million candidates for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education examinations this week. Labour wards, the story explained, had become alternatives for exam rooms.

Sadly, these new young mothers are among an estimated 152,000 girls who fell pregnant last year, a predicament partly blamed on lockdown, closure of schools, and lack of access to sexual reproductive health services. There was a 40 percent increase in the monthly average of teenage pregnancies during the period.

There is no doubt that we will see similar headlines when the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examinations starts.

Unfortunately, the problem of teenage pregnancies has been with us for decades - and it keeps on ballooning. Nothing much has been done to bring it to an end. But how can the problem be brought to an end if the males responsible, most of them bearded men, are left to walk scot-free after their shameful exploits?

More often than not, the focus is more on the victims rather than the perpetrators, whose lives continue uninterrupted while the girls have to grapple with birth complications, stigma, first-hand parental responsibility, and the delay in reaching their goals and full potential. And we haven’t mentioned the risk of sexually transmitted infections.

Thankfully, in July last year, President Uhuru Kenyatta realized what ought to be done to bring this assault of our girls to an end. He ordered chiefs to ensure that those responsible for impregnating minors be arrested and charged. Recently, Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i, gave a similar directive after over 10,000 teenage girls were reported pregnant in Trans Nzoia County, the highest number in the country.

Since then, however, I have not heard any cases of men being dragged to court for impregnating girls. Either the orders by the president and the Interior CS have been ignored or the perpetrators have outsmarted the law enforcers.

Until the headlines change from ‘152,000 teenage girls impregnated’ to ‘152,000 men arrested for impregnating girls’, I will continue to treat orders and threats by government officials to arrest sex offenders as mere lip-service. The law is unambiguous, under-18s cannot have consensual sex. As a result, any man who has sex with a child is guilty of defilement. He must face the law. It’s not hard to nail the culprits; DNA technology will help put them where they belong.

Currently, there is an upsurge of Covid-19. At the same time, schools have closed for holidays until May. If the raging third wave affects schools’ reopening, and this is likely to happen, will we still blame the rise in coronavirus infections for (another) increase in teenage motherhood?

It would be disingenuous to do so. The increase then, just like now, won’t be because of the virus but due to our failure to punish those who have defiled and put our girls in the family way. As long as these men are not punished, they will keep on assaulting our girls—and other perverted men will follow suit.

While the school is arguably the safest institution where children are pre-occupied in both curricular and extra-curricular activities, society should create a safe space for our children while at home.

‘Turbulent’ times

Parents should also educate children to embrace what is right and the implications of waywardness. Religious institutions should guide young people into responsible adulthood by teaching them life skills and the consequences of being irresponsible.

You will agree with me that boys and girls between ages 13 and 19 go through ‘turbulent’ times as they grow physically and mentally. During that period, parents, guardians, and teachers, although busy, must understand teenagers’ concerns and address them with love and empathy. That way we can help them avoid the pitfalls.

The media should also give priority to sexuality education. Information on Covid-19 has been effectively accessed disseminated via mainstream and social media platforms since its outbreak in Kenya last year. The same should happen to sexuality education.

Sexual and reproductive health issues should also be addressed through tech-based interventions. The ‘digital’ generation is likely to spend 80 percent of their free time online. The government should leverage technology to provide access to sexuality information to teenagers to combat the teenage-sex menace.

Most importantly, however, grown-up men who take advantage of our girls must be made to face the music.

-Ms. Mathu is a communications and public relations specialist