La Strada Documentation Center

The Extent and Effect of Sex Tourism and Sexual Exploitation of Children on the Kenyan Coast

Document number
1418
Date
2006
Title
The Extent and Effect of Sex Tourism and Sexual Exploitation of Children on the Kenyan Coast
Author/publisher
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
Availability
View/save PDF version of this document
Document type(s)
Research/Study/Analysis,
Keywords
Corporate social responsibility, Multi-stakeholder partnerships: Missing children, Internal trafficking, Forced labour, Identification, Domestic servitude, Sexual exploitation, Private fostering, Forced marriage, Child Trafficking, Child Prostitution, Child Pornography,
Summary
The commercial sexual exploitation of children in coastal areas exposed in this report is a shocking violation of their rights, and a reflection of the profound risk potentially faced by all children in Kenya. Some ten to fifteen thousand girls living in coastal areas of Malindi, Mombasa, Kalifi and Diani are involved in casual sex work – up to 30% of all 12-18 year olds living in these areas. A further two to three thousand girls and boys are involved in full-time year round commercial activity. Many full-time child sex workers have migrated to the coast from other parts of the country, and have often been inaugurated into sex work before they arrive. The sexual exploitation of children is not limited to coastal areas or to tourists, but can be found in communities across Kenya. About one in ten children involved in sex work are initiated before they reach puberty.
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