Parents and guardians have been urged to be extra vigilant and monitor their children’s movements, so as to curb the rising cases of child trafficking.

Ministry of Labour and Social Protection Principal Secretary (PS), Joseph Motari, noted that human trafficking, is still rampant in Kenya, despite the legal and policy frameworks in place to combat it with children being the most affected.

Speaking in Namanga, Kajiado County, during celebrations to mark the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, Motari said children are generally vulnerable thus face the risk of being trafficked for sexual exploitation, forced marriage, begging, cheap labour and even organ harvesting.

‘I want to urge all parents and guardians to take care of their children to ensure that they do not become victims of human trafficking. Children are the most vulnerable and are targeted by traffickers for forced labour both locally and internationally.’ He said.

The PS remarked that children represent a significant proportion of trafficki
ng victims worldwide, with girls being disproportionately affected.

Poverty, dysfunctional families, armed conflicts and lack of parental care are some of the factors that contribute to the high cases of child trafficking.

He reiterated that trafficked children face a far greater risk of suffering violence compared to adults thus must be protected.

Motari added that persons living with disabilities were also at great risk of being trafficked and forced to beg in the streets in towns.

According to Assistant County Commissioner, Faith Ludeki, human and child trafficking in Kajiado County is rampant and is often conducted through the porous borders.

Girls are trafficked across borders or to different regions to undergo Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in secrecy, where it is less enforced. The movement is often under the guise of cultural or family visits making it hard to nab the perpetrators.

‘Kajiado being a border county, it has witnessed an influx of children from the neighboring country and counties t
rafficked for the purpose of exploitation. This is often done in secrecy, making it an invisible crime and often goes undetected because of its nature with the victims often unable to seek help,’ he said.

Ludeki, who spoke on behalf of the County Commissioner, James Taari, said identification and protection of child victims remain challenging due to underreporting, lack of awareness, and inadequate resources for victim support services.

Traffickers often employ coercion, deception, and threats to maintain control over their victims, making it difficult for authorities to intervene.

She emphasized the need for continuous awareness on human trafficking and strengthening collaborations of the law enforcement and stakeholders during operations to rescue trafficked children and apprehend traffickers.

According to the National Crime Research Center 2022 Report, human trafficking in Kenya is high with the country being described as an origin, transit and destination in trafficking in persons.

Most of the victim
s were trafficked for cheap labour, sexual exploitation and cultural purposes.

Trafficking for labour accounted for 96 percent and 98.3 percent of all trafficking cases in the year 2020 and 2021, respectively.

The Study further revealed that external trafficking in persons was the most prominent at 64.7 percent while domestic trafficking was 35.3 percent. In external trafficking, majority of the victims were adults and youthful females aged 18-34 years.

Children were mostly victims of domestic trafficking accounting for 4 out of 10 victims of domestic trafficking.

Some of the main factors contributing to Trafficking in Persons include poverty, unemployment, ready markets for cheap labour and ignorance and impacts of climate change.

The World Day Against Trafficking in Persons is marked globally on July 30th, to raise awareness, encourage vigilance, promote the protection of the rights of trafficking victims and encourage governments, organizations, and individuals to prevent and combat trafficking in per
sons.

This year’s theme ‘Leave No Child Behind in the Fight Against Human Trafficking’, highlights the critical need for inclusive and focused efforts to protect children.

Source: Kenya News Agency