Poverty, aid dependency, corruption, climate change, wars and conflicts, even road safety – all these can stymie even the most optimistic among us.
When we are faced with complex, deeply entrenched issues, many of us freeze and feel powerless.
Yet, if we look at the arc of history, we have managed to move the needle on some intractable issues such as colonialism, slavery, working conditions, voting rights, and others. We may not have solved these but we have made significant change.
Child sexual abuse is another issue that can feel insurmountable. The statistics are horrifying.
ZanaAfrica is a Kenyan NGO that works to eradicate child abuse through affordable and high-quality sanitary pads combined with education and health programmes that tackle stigmatised topics.
In Kenya, a randomised controlled trial that evaluated ZanaAfrica’s adolescent health and life skills school programme found that the average age of girls’ first sexual encounters is 11.7 (yes, under 12!), and almost 100 per cent of encounters were non-consensual and unwanted, typically forced by an older man.
The girls either did not know they could say no or did not know how to say no, often because of the social norm of deference to adults no matter what the cost.
Harmful social norms – the informal rules that govern our behaviour towards others – foster feelings of voicelessness, perpetuate negative masculinity, and create pressure to silently accept violence and abuse. These norms are deeply reinforced by decades of colonialism, inter-generational trauma and the sustained effects of deep poverty.
As a result, we see unwanted pregnancy (one in three Kenyan girls aged 19 is either pregnant or childbearing), mental health issues (Kenyan men are three times more likely to commit suicide compared to women) and lifetime ripple effects that impact health, education and economic outcomes, perpetuating cycles of poverty. We cannot blame children; they are the victims of huge societal failures and become trapped by their circumstances. But when faced with such large numbers, what can possibly be done?
There is hope to indicate that ending child abuse is within our power. Programmes co-created with communities across Kenya have been proven to work. Late last year ZanaAfrica, the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development and their partners conducted research with almost 1,600 teachers, learners and other respondents in eight counties (representing the eight former regions of Kenya).
The findings revealed a deep desire to address child protection issues within schools even though teachers themselves may feel powerless or fearful. Parents aspire for better futures for their children, hoping that their children do not face the same challenges they did.
But what if teaching about consent encourages adolescents to have sex, practice unsafe behaviour or generally do things that are not in line with our family and community values? The evidence shows that, on the contrary, when adolescents are better informed, they take concrete steps to stay safe.
Teaching kids about consent – appropriate and inappropriate touch, the right to say no to a hug or a touch on the bottom or worse, the need to confide in a trusted adult if touched inappropriately – saves lives: Schools that we worked with that covered adolescent reproductive health, child rights and consent anecdotally saw 100 per cent of girls returning after Covid lockdowns, whereas in nearby schools, 50 per cent of girls dropped out.
Students spoke of how they helped each other find safety when one of them was at risk. They banded together when they were harassed or pressured by older male predators. When children otherwise lack answers to the questions they don’t know how to ask, they are vulnerable to misinformation shared by predators and groomers seeking to take advantage of them.
When age-appropriate reproductive health education is combined with life skills education on setting goals, overcoming challenges, navigating difficult situations, and understanding social norms and human rights, it is a tool for child safeguarding, and protects our youngest from abuse and harm.
Ms Roopal, a Public Voices Fellow on Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse with The OpEd Project, works for ZanaAfrica
By Roopal Thaker