WOVOP -Teenage pregnancy menace in Kisumu County.

In the old days, we had elder women talking to younger women about good morals and sex. The sessions were called 'siwindhe' . Then grew up knowing their moral values, respecting their bodies, and also vowing to only indulge in sex during marriage. This days, sex has been taken to be an activity anyone can indulge in. Our morals are wanting. The music and media exposure has also added in influencing our teenagers to get involved in sexual activities. No one is reaching out to our teens to educate them about values and the sacredness of sex. We have become a society afraid to raise our voices on these activities yet we are being affected deeply.

Teenage pregnancies in Kisumu have been on the rise since the hit of the COVID-19 pandemic. Girls stayed out of school, thus some engaged in early sex and became pregnant. In Kisumu county, the cases have risen from 22% to 42% since 2020.

This escalating percentage of teenage pregnancies are worrying. The following are some of the causes of teenage pregnancies in Kisumu:

1. Sexual violence

Young girls are being violated sexually. This is sadly done by their close friends and family members. Young girls even get raped in their own homes. Girls from age 15-19 years are mostly the victims of sexual violence. The hotspots in Kisumu are manyatta and Obunga, which have a percentage of 75% cases according to women volunteers for peace. The girls in these areas also lack safe space and some are afraid of fighting for their justice.

2. Lack of information about sexual health and reproductive rights

Many young girls in Kisumu County lack information about their sexual health and reproductive rights. This is because of some bad attitudes from health workers, the girl's distance from health facilities. Young girls are normally afraid of reaching out to seek information on contraceptives and health rights. This has made girls to get sexually active thus getting pregnant.

3.Sex for Pad

Most of vulnerable girls from slum and rural areas in Kisumu County engage in sex for money. Most of these girls are sexually active from 11years.The girls mostly say they are looking for money for their fees, and also to buy sanitary towels. They engage in sex without contraceptives Thus end up getting pregnant. The teenage pregnancies in Kisumu have led girls to drop out of school massively. This is because of tough school rules that do not allow girls to go to school while pregnant. It is a form of punishment to keep pregnant girls out of school because of their indiscipline. These girls end up having stigma and rejection.

Remedies to teenage pregnancies

These cases can however be curved if girls are taught about their sexual rights and values. Religious and secular organizations should begin talking to girls about sexual values and rights without being embarrassed.

Parents should also hold conversations with their children about sex. Parents should talk about their traditional Values for sex, their desires and plans for their children and also discourage early dating and sleep overs, because this are mostly where the teenagers try out to have sex in the name of love.

Health and sexual trainers and facilities should be teen-friendly. They should be willing to educate young girls about contraceptives, STIs and dangers of unprotected sex. Health facilities should be willing to give advice on safe methods, use of contraceptives that are friendly to children and offer free facilitation and giving condom among other contraceptives.

Children's activities should be supervised by both parents, teachers and society as a whole. Guardians and parents should know the activities their children are engaged in, their friends and movements.

How Women Volunteers for Peace (WOVOP) comes in to prevent teenage pregnancies in Kisumu:

At WOVOP, we promote young women and adolescent girls’ dignity and empowerment through sexual reproductive health promotion. Through The Keep A Girl in School Campaign, we have been able to distribute over 10,000 dignity kits,(sanitary towels, panties, tissue papers, lotion, soap and face towels) to school girls from less privileged background. This helps the girls to concentrate in school and worry less about getting money for dignity kits.

Women Volunteers for Peace also creates safe spaces for girls, as they can talk about their issues of concern through the Girls Talk Platform. They engage in the drive of teenage pregnancy menace to foster the use of possible local solutions for local health problems.

Women Volunteers for Peace also works to model and remodel adolescent behavior by enhancing the capacity to make informed choices on issues of sexuality to ensure the full enjoyment of reproductive.

content written by

Catherine Khayali

Communications intern

Women Volunteers for Peace (WOVOP)